9 Apr
2002
9 Apr
'02
2:06 a.m.
Jonathan Engdahl wrote:
Let's give the original poster a break, I think he was serious.
John and Chad, just in case you *weren't* being tongue-in-cheek,
that's not the Simon he was talking about...
-dq
-Douglas Hurst Quebbeman (DougQ at ixnayamspayIgLou.com) [Call me "Doug"]
Surgically excise the pig-latin from my e-mail address in order to reply
"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away." -Tom Waits
Do you mean that kid's game with the blinking
lights that you
had to memorize and push the buttons in the same order? I just
this evening tossed one. I found it in the attic in many pieces.
The circuit board looked intact. Shall I go dive for it?
Those were neat. I had one a few years after they came out. My mother
bought it at a garage sale. I think it is long gone now. I liked it a
lot. I can hear it now in my head :-) Maybe if I would have played
itmore, I would have a better memory now :-( 
9 Apr
9 Apr
4:08 a.m.
I was entirely in earnest. LOL. When I saw that message just after I had
tossed the Simon, I did a quick search for "blinkenlights", and Google came
up with this website: http://www.blinkenlights.de/. It's not at all
implausible that these guys would have had a Simon emulation running on the
Haus des Lehrers. They did, after all, have Pong. Later, I did find the
http://www.blinkenlights.com/ website, and laughed at myself when I found
what the other Simon was.
I've already received two emails from people that want this classic
computing treasure, even in pieces.
I took a quick glance as it came out of the old kids' toybox -- it has a
Texas Instruments chip in it, TMS3300 something or other. I remember
drooling over the TMS1000 when it first came out.
http://www.datamath.org/Story/Intel.htm, etc. I wonder if this is a variant.
I carried the TMS1000 datasheet around with me in a binder that also
contained my 1973 Intel catalog, and my Godbout price list. Unfortunately,
these chips are not hackable -- the firmware is in hard ROM.
--
Jonathan Engdahl Rockwell Automation
Principal Research Engineer 1 Allen-Bradley Drive
Advanced Technology Mayfield Heights, OH 44124 USA
Mayfield Heights Labs engdahl(a)safeaccess.com 440-646-7326
----- Original Message -----
From: "Douglas H. Quebbeman" <dquebbeman(a)acm.org>
To: "ClassicCmp List" <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 7:06 AM
Subject: RE: Does Anyone Have A
"Doug"]
Jonathan
Engdahl wrote:
Let's give the original poster a break, I think he was serious.
John and Chad, just in case you *weren't* being tongue-in-cheek,
that's not the Simon he was talking about...
-dq
-Douglas Hurst Quebbeman (DougQ at ixnayamspayIgLou.com) [Call me
Do you mean that kid's game with the blinking
lights that you
had to memorize and push the buttons in the same order? I just
this evening tossed one. I found it in the attic in many pieces.
The circuit board looked intact. Shall I go dive for it?
Those were neat. I had one a few years after they came out. My mother
bought it at a garage sale. I think it is long gone now. I liked it a
lot. I can hear it now in my head :-) Maybe if I would have played
itmore, I would have a better memory now :-( Surgically excise the pig-latin from my e-mail
address in order to reply
"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away." -Tom Waits
12:14 a.m.
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Jonathan Engdahl wrote:
Haus des Lehrers. They did, after all, have Pong.
Later, I did find the
http://www.blinkenlights.com/ website, and laughed at myself when I found
what the other Simon was.
I've already received two emails from people that want this classic
computing treasure, even in pieces.
Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"?
Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they would
find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like you're
going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're only
likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats nest of
wires and relays.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
8:01 a.m.
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic
brain"?
Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they would
find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like you're
going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're only
likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats nest of
wires and relays.
Like this one?
http://www.widomaker.com/~cswiger/simon/index.html
-- Doug
9:02 a.m.
Are there any Simon construction plans floating around?
-- Tony
At 01:01 PM 4/9/2002 -0400, you wrote:
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
Are you talking about the 1950s Simon
"electronic brain"?
Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they would
find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like you're
going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're only
likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats nest of
wires and relays.
Like this one?
http://www.widomaker.com/~cswiger/simon/index.html
-- Doug
9:04 a.m.
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Tony Eros wrote:
Are there any Simon construction plans floating
around?
Yes, they were published in a series of Radio Electronics articles (Oct
1950 - Oct 1951). Berkeley also published them separatedly (Berkeley
Associates). The Charles Babbage Institute holds the copyrights for all
of Berkeley's publications, and they'll generally photocopy for a nominal
charge:
http://www.cbi.umn.edu/collections/inv/berkeley.htm
Cheers,
Doug
10 a.m.
--- Doug Salot <doug(a)blinkenlights.com> wrote:
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Tony Eros wrote:
Did anyone notice numbers 296 and 315?
* #296: DEC PDP-9 at BE, 1968. (Box 50, folders 23-30) [correspondence,
notes, field service manuals, invoices, BE financial report, computer use
schedules and brochures]
* #315: PDP-9 maintenance manual, 1968. (Box 52, folder 51-52) [memos and
engineering drawings lists]
-ethan
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax
http://taxes.yahoo.com/
Are there any Simon construction plans floating
around?
Yes, they were published in a series of Radio Electronics articles (Oct
1950 - Oct 1951). Berkeley also published them separatedly (Berkeley
Associates). The Charles Babbage Institute holds the copyrights for all
of Berkeley's publications, and they'll generally photocopy for a nominal
charge:
http://www.cbi.umn.edu/collections/inv/berkeley.htm 
9:45 a.m.
New subject: Simon Relay Computer Re: Does Anyone Have A
I have the original plans for Simon. They were scanned a few years ago
and made available to listmembers on CD-ROM, but I don't know where the
scans are at this point. Doug also has the plans and I *thought* he had
made them available on the web. Someone had gotten copies of the plans
from IIRC the Babbage Institute, but they were
prohibited from
distributing them. Check the ClassicCmp Archives for more
information.
Tony Eros wrote:
Are there any Simon construction plans floating around?
-- Tony
At 01:01 PM 4/9/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
>
> > Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"?
> >
> > Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they would
> > find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like
you're
> > going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're only
> > likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats nest of
> > wires and relays.
>
>Like this one?
> http://www.widomaker.com/~cswiger/simon/index.html
>
>-- Doug
2:07 a.m.
New subject: Simon Relay Computer Re: Does Anyone Have A
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Marvin Johnston wrote:
I have the original plans for Simon. They were scanned
a few years ago
and made available to listmembers on CD-ROM, but I don't know where the
scans are at this point. Doug also has the plans and I *thought* he had
made them available on the web. Someone had gotten copies of the plans
from IIRC the Babbage Institute, but they were prohibited from
distributing them. Check the ClassicCmp Archives for more information.
Thanks for reminding me. I have a copy of this CD. It has 42 scanned
pages in TIF format. Each file is around 8MB!
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
10:37 a.m.
New subject: Plans for Simon Relay Computer (was: Re: Does Anyone Have A)
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Marvin Johnston wrote:
So what would a person have to do to get a copy of said CD? Hmmm? :-)
I have the original plans for Simon. They were
scanned a few years ago
and made available to listmembers on CD-ROM, but I don't know where the
scans are at this point. Doug also has the plans and I *thought* he had
made them available on the web. Someone had gotten copies of the plans
from IIRC the Babbage Institute, but they were prohibited from
distributing them. Check the ClassicCmp Archives for more information.
Thanks for reminding me. I have a copy of this CD. It has 42 scanned
pages in TIF format. Each file is around 8MB!
1:03 p.m.
New subject: Plans for Simon Relay Computer (was: Re: Does Anyone Have A)
Bill Richman wrote:
And just what else is on that CD?
--
Ben Franchuk - Dawn * 12/24 bit cpu *
www.jetnet.ab.ca/users/bfranchuk/index.html
Thanks for
reminding me. I have a copy of this CD. It has 42 scanned
pages in TIF format. Each file is around 8MB!
So what would a person have to do to get a copy of said CD? Hmmm? :-)
5:44 a.m.
New subject: Plans for Simon Relay Computer (was: Re: Does Anyone Have A)
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Ben Franchuk wrote:
Bill Richman wrote:
And just what else is on that CD?
Nothing save for the 42 scanned pages which I believe is the complete
construction series.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
Thanks
for reminding me. I have a copy of this CD. It has 42 scanned
pages in TIF format. Each file is around 8MB!
So what would a person have to do to get a copy of said CD? Hmmm? :-)
9:38 a.m.
New subject: Simon Relay Computer Re: Does Anyone Have A
The scans and CD-ROM don't ring a bell for me (and I didn't see any
reference in the archives). Are you sure you're not thinking of the
Mark-8 scans and CD-ROM Jim Willing produced a while back?
-- Doug
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Marvin Johnston wrote:
I have the original plans for Simon. They were scanned a few years ago
and made available to listmembers on CD-ROM, but I don't know where the
scans are at this point. Doug also has the plans and I *thought* he had
made them available on the web. Someone had gotten copies of the plans
from IIRC the Babbage Institute, but they were prohibited from
distributing them. Check the ClassicCmp Archives for more information.
Tony Eros wrote:
Are there any Simon construction plans floating around?
-- Tony
At 01:01 PM 4/9/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
>
> > Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"?
> >
> > Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they would
> > find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like
you're
> > going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're only
> > likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats nest of
> > wires and relays.
>
>Like this one?
> http://www.widomaker.com/~cswiger/simon/index.html
>
>-- Doug
10:25 a.m.
New subject: Simon Relay Computer Re: Does Anyone Have A
I distinctly remember scanning and burning the CD-ROMs for several
listmembers. Since I rarely will dispose of such stuff, there is
probably a copy of the CD-ROM around here someplace ...but where :). I
also got a copy of the Mark-8 and IIRC TV Typewriter on CD from Jim, but
this is something different. You and I are the only two people *I* know
of who have the original plans on the list.
Doug Salot wrote:
The scans and CD-ROM don't ring a bell for me (and I didn't see any
reference in the archives). Are you sure you're not thinking of the
Mark-8 scans and CD-ROM Jim Willing produced a while back?
-- Doug
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Marvin Johnston wrote:
>
> I have the original plans for Simon. They were scanned a few years ago
> and made available to listmembers on CD-ROM, but I don't know where the
> scans are at this point. Doug also has the plans and I *thought* he had
> made them available on the web. Someone had gotten copies of the plans
> from IIRC the Babbage Institute, but they were prohibited from
> distributing them. Check the ClassicCmp Archives for more information.
>
> Tony Eros wrote:
> >
> > Are there any Simon construction plans floating around?
> >
> > -- Tony
> >
> > At 01:01 PM 4/9/2002 -0400, you wrote:
> > >On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
> > >
> > > > Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"?
> > > >
> > > > Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they
would
> > > > find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like
you're
> > > > going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're
only
> > > > likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats
nest of
> > > > wires and relays.
> > >
> > >Like this one?
> > > http://www.widomaker.com/~cswiger/simon/index.html
> > >
> > >-- Doug
>
11 Apr
11 Apr
5:32 a.m.
New subject: Simon Plans Re: Simon Relay Computer Re: Does Anyone Have A
Turns out I was one of the list members who received the Simon plans on CD
-- I found it this morning.
-- Tony
At 12:25 PM 4/9/2002 -0700, you wrote:
I distinctly remember scanning and burning the CD-ROMs
for several
listmembers. Since I rarely will dispose of such stuff, there is
probably a copy of the CD-ROM around here someplace ...but where :). I
also got a copy of the Mark-8 and IIRC TV Typewriter on CD from Jim, but
this is something different. You and I are the only two people *I* know
of who have the original plans on the list.
Doug Salot wrote:
The scans and CD-ROM don't ring a bell for me (and I didn't see any
reference in the archives). Are you sure you're not thinking of the
Mark-8 scans and CD-ROM Jim Willing produced a while back?
-- Doug
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Marvin Johnston wrote:
>
> I have the original plans for Simon. They were scanned a few years ago
> and made available to listmembers on CD-ROM, but I don't know where the
> scans are at this point. Doug also has the plans and I *thought* he had
> made them available on the web. Someone had gotten copies of the plans
> from IIRC the Babbage Institute, but they were prohibited from
> distributing them. Check the ClassicCmp Archives for more information.
>
> Tony Eros wrote:
> >
> > Are there any Simon construction plans floating around?
> >
> > -- Tony
> >
> > At 01:01 PM 4/9/2002 -0400, you wrote:
> > >On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
> > >
> > > > Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"?
> > > >
> > > > Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research,
they would
> > > > find that the Simon was a
construction project. So it's not
like you're
> > > > going to find a mass
produced, commercially sold
variant. You're only
> > > > likely, if you're
incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats
nest of
> > > > > wires and relays.
> > > >
> > > >Like this one?
> > > > http://www.widomaker.com/~cswiger/simon/index.html
> > > >
> > > >-- Doug
> >
9 Apr
9 Apr
9:03 a.m.
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"?
Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they would
find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like you're
going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're only
likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats nest of
wires and relays.
So is there a complete set of schematics and/or construction diagrams
available anywhere on the web? I saw some pictures and a description -
maybe on the Blinkinlights website - but have never seen the articles
about building it anywhere.
2 a.m.
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Bill Richman wrote:
I think Doug Salot and Doug Coward might have this sort of stuff. I know
Doug C. was attempting to find all the parts to put one together a few
years back, but I don't know what eventual progress he made on that.
Also, check Chuck Swiger's site that Doug S. just posted:
http://www.widomaker.com/~cswiger/simon/index.html
Edmund Berekely (the designer) wrote a book called "Computers: Their
Operation and Applications" that in part detailed the design of the Simon.
It has numerous diagrams and stuff.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
* Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *
Are you
talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"?
Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they would
find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like you're
going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're only
likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats nest of
wires and relays.
So is there a complete set of schematics and/or construction diagrams
available anywhere on the web? I saw some pictures and a description -
maybe on the Blinkinlights website - but have never seen the articles
about building it anywhere. 
1:23 p.m.
The 1950 and 1951 Radio Electronics had the article on how to build it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Richman" <bill(a)timeguy.com>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 1:03 PM
Subject: Re: Does Anyone Have A
description -
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Sellam Ismail wrote:
>
> Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"?
>
> Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the research, they
would
> find that the Simon was a construction project.
So it's not like
you're
> going to find a mass produced, commercially sold
variant. You're
only
> likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find
some hobbyists rats nest
of
wires and
relays.
So is there a complete set of schematics and/or construction diagrams
available anywhere on the web? I saw some pictures and a maybe on the Blinkinlights website - but have never
seen the articles
about building it anywhere.
10 Apr
10 Apr
5:43 a.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sellam Ismail" <foo(a)siconic.com>
No, this is that other, equally classic and valuable treasure, the MB Simon
game, circa 1980.
On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Jonathan Engdahl wrote:
> Haus des Lehrers. They did, after all, have Pong. Later, I did find the
> http://www.blinkenlights.com/ website, and laughed at myself when I
found
what the other
Simon was.
I've already received two emails from people that want this classic
computing treasure, even in pieces.
Are you talking about the 1950s Simon "electronic brain"? Some people are silly and lazy. If they would do the
research, they would
find that the Simon was a construction project. So it's not like you're
going to find a mass produced, commercially sold variant. You're only
likely, if you're incredibly lucky, to find some hobbyists rats nest of
wires and relays.
This Simon *is* a construction project. It apppears that one of the kids
took it all apart to see what made it work. Most of the pieces are there.
Maybe I'll put it on eBay with a starting bid of $150. Somebody out there
will want to restore it and put it in a museum, next to the Microsoft
Solitaire kiosk.
;-)
Jonathan Engdahl
8134
days inactive
8136
days old
19 comments
11 participants
participants (11)
-
bfranchuk＠jetnet.ab.ca -
bill＠timeguy.com -
doug＠blinkenlights.com -
dquebbeman＠acm.org -
erd_6502＠yahoo.com -
fernande＠internet1.net -
foo＠siconic.com -
jrengdahl＠safeaccess.com -
jrkeys＠concentric.net -
marvin＠rain.org -
tony.eros＠machm.org