On Mon, 28 Jan 2002, Doc wrote: Speaking of cloning old hardware...Is anyone still looking to duplicate the Hayes Micromodem II "microcoupler" units (the external part)? I've got one I accidentally dropped and broke the cover on, and have considered going ahead and scanning the board and drawing up a schematic. Would there be any interest in it? If there is enough interest to justify the time required, I might even be willing to cad up the design of the case and pc board so that a very close replica could be produced. Now for a little history on these modems... The Hayes Micromodem II is a modem for the Apple II series made around 1982-1983. It consists of an internal board that fits in an expansion slot of an Apple II series computer and an external device with a tinted plexiglass cover called a "microcoupler". These were connected together by a 10 conductor shielded ribbon cable. Hayes designed these modems with the telephone to computer interface as a separate unit (since it had to be FCC approved) so it could then be used for future modem models. AFAIK, the Micromodem II was the only modem that actually ever made use of the microcoupler. The microcoupler only has two connectors, both on one end of the unit. One is a 10 pin (one pin removed as a key) header for the ribbon cable, the other is a RJ11 jack for a modular phone cord. -Toth

On Mon, 28 Jan 2002, John Chris Wren wrote: Damn you! You've killed the rarity of my Chronograph! :) 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 *

On Tue, 29 Jan 2002, John Chris Wren wrote: Oh yeah? Well, I've got the original Hayes modem product: the DC Hayes modem for the S-100 bus :) 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 *

How many people on this list still have their 1st computer? second? third? every computer you ever used/owned? The first computer I ever used was a IBM 360 via punched cards in Fortran. First I ever sat in front of and worked on directly was an IBM 1130 via selectric console running a French version of APL. First I ever owned was a Apple II, which I still have. Same for the next five I owned/used; Mac Plus, Mac IIx, Mac 7200/90, Starmax 4160, and my Athlon based PC.

i still have my first -- a ti99-4a -- that i bought new in 1978? and almost all of the others since -- billp On Tuesday, January 29, 2002, at 05:57 , Sellam Ismail wrote:

The first computer I ever owned was a Commodore64. I don't have it anymore. I ended up throwing it out. I was _not_ a member of this list then or I would have kept it or offered it to someone. Not sure if an HP-45 calculator counts as a "computer", but I had that in college. I used it for several years even when the battery died out and couldn't be replaced (used it on the cord). Threw it out (again, not a member). I probably would have kept it if I could have had a replacement for the battery... (please don't tell me there is.. sigh). Then, I had a vt100 terminal connected to a 1200 baud external modem. I used that to dial in to a BBS. I don't have that anymore. My first PC, is the one I am typing at now: Micron Millennia MMx, P166MMX. I now have several Apollo's and several VAXen. Also, an IBM Thinkpad on the other side of the ocean waiting for me to pick up. My earliest experience with computers in college was at a printer terminal. It was 1973 at Merrimack College. I have no idea what it was connected to but I remember making a "program" to print out biorhythms. ---end of "flashback". Bill Amsterdam, NL On Tue, Jan 29, 2002 at 10:28:58AM -0800, Mike Ford wrote:

On Tue, 29 Jan 2002, Tony Duell wrote: They sell those 3-cell AA NiCad packs here as replacements for cordless phones. I've often see them in local shops for $10-12. -Toth

On Tue, 29 Jan 2002, Tony Duell wrote: It's getting that way with old laptops and portable computers these days too. Replacement "packs" are either not available or are way to expensive. More often than not, the batteries inside those things are standard (usually still have to be ordered) NiCad or Nimh type cells. -Toth

On Wed, 30 Jan 2002, Tony Duell wrote: I've done a considerable amount of this myself, and have some very "unusual" stuff in my junkboxes. (If I can ever find them again.) Lots of folks think I waste my time on stuff, but repair is often the only option when it's a one of a kind part, or would cost way too much for a replacement. And as a last resort, if I can't repair something with my current tools and skills, it goes into a box for later repair by myself or someone else. One good example of this kind of item is the floppy drive used in PS/2 systems. I found just recently that they commonly often fail due to bad surface mount electrolytic capacitors. Once I have a hot-air soldering station, I have at least 5-7 of these drives that will be repaired. -Toth

I have all of mine, starting with the VIC-20 I bought new. I bought my first 1541 for $340 (on sale too), and an extender card, and all the meory to expand it to full capacity. The rest I have purchased used along the way. I'm up to about 3 Vic's, 5 64's, 7 Amiga's, and one each of an Osborne 1, TI99/4A, and Timex ZX81 in pieces. I don't have the computer we loved to hate at Montana State University, the Xerox Sigma VII. I did APL programming with a 33ASR and acoustic modem (paper tape storage). Then on to real batch programming with those $%#$^$#%^& keypunch machines and a crappy Fortran compiler that bombed out when an error in ONE card was found. From these early experiences I grew to loathe computers, until the VIC rolled down the road towards me. Gary Hildebrand St. Joseph, MO

Probably a late response, but... 1st: 1981 or so, VIC-20, still have it. 2nd: 1982 or so, C64, still have it. 3rd: 1989 or so, Corona PC Clone (not extremely compatible), still have it. 4th: 1990, '286 clone, is gone somewhere. I have an Apple ][e, but not the one I used in high school. The rest of my collection is later acquisitions but includes nearly a dozen VAXen, 2 older Sun workstations, Kaypro IV, Xerox 820 (does anyone have 8" boot media for this thing?), ASR-33 teletype, various other bits & bobs. Sincerely, Chris Craft, RetroComputing Nut. On Tue, 29 Jan 2002, Mike Ford wrote:

Joe wrote: Yuck! APL. Still the the IBM-1130 was a nice machine for its day. That was the first computer I used, not that often since I never took computer science. I ended up using a PDP-8 too. -- Ben Franchuk - Dawn * 12/24 bit cpu * www.jetnet.ab.ca/users/bfranchuk/index.html

The first REAL computer i have used was a CDC Cyber-7600 at the University of Stuttgart. I took a FORTRAN77 course, and we used punched cards. Actually, that's why i took the course... I never owned that one. My parents would not let me 8-) My first own computer was a 8085-based single board computer, with led output and hex keyboard, from a small german company named "Graf Electronik". That was in 1982. I still have that one (it works!), and, IIRC every single one i build or accuired later on. I am THE packrat, according to my wife... Except for some PC's, but they don't count, i think. ms On Tue, 2002-01-29 at 19:28, Mike Ford wrote: -- Michael Schneider email: ms(a)vaxcluster.de Germany http://www.vaxcluster.de People disagree with me. I just ignore them. (Linus Torvalds)

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Such an open question, durnit! I'll spare some of the boring ones. 1: think-a-tron. Don't have it. See #2. 2: MiniVac601. Hmmm, a one bit adder. But you could do anything! To a six-year-old it was like Will Smith in "ID4". We didn't own it but it was the first "real" hw that made it into the house. Found one a while back. ---- school ---- 3: HP 25 doing funky machine language. Own now, not then. 4: IBM 3033 running MTS. Don't have. 5: IBM 5100 BASIC/APL on summer break. Still cant find one! 6: Prime 500/750 running Imlacs PDS'es. see #7 ---- after school ---- 7: PDP 11/34 running RSX-11M. Just got one last year. DEC stayed alive 10 years longer than Prime for good reason. After I got a chance to learn, DECs always seemed better . . . I'm sort of weight conscious. The next computer up was a VAX 11/780. MicroVaxes do suffice. . . . 30: IBM PVS running Mach Unix. Find That! . . . Yes, Stuff I used is definitely a collection focus. John A.

Hi, Mike Ford <mikeford(a)socal.rr.com> said: Mine was ICL1904 and NCC Filetab via punched cards. Same ICL as above... My first was an SC/MP board, then an 8080 wirewrap thing then a Sinclair MK14, which is the first one I still own, followed by an early TRS-80 mod 1, which I still have. (Then XT clone, AT, 386, 486, Pentia, Mac SE, Mac 630, and oddments like Oric, Spectrums, ZX81, Einstein...most of which are still around... ) -- Cheers, Stan Barr stanb(a)dial.pipex.com The future was never like this!

The first computer I ever used, at the tender age of seven, was my dear Tomy Tutor and I still own it. It is in perfect working order. The second computer was a C64 (natch) but the PLA died on it a few years back and I stripped it for parts, the third was a C128 (natch) that suffered a crippling and undetermined board fault, and after that I forget :-) The first Mac I owned was a IIsi, and I still have that. Most of its current parts, the 8*24*GC card and the SCSI EN/SE ENet were bought from you, as I recall. :-P -- ----------------------------- personal page: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ -- Cameron Kaiser, Point Loma Nazarene University * ckaiser(a)stockholm.ptloma.edu -- Conscience makes egotists of us all. -- Oscar Wilde ------------------------

On Tue, 29 Jan 2002 blstuart(a)bellsouth.net wrote: Cool. What's the model number? 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 *

--- Mike Ford <mikeford(a)socal.rr.com> wrote: The first computer I spent any length of time in front of (not counting school/boy scout trips to places that had computers) was something owned by the Columbus Public Schools. It used mark-sense cards and had a single-line alphanumeric display, possibly a 14-segment per character amber flourescent display, with a "lazy T" prompt. The prompt was distinctive - it had the right most segments set and the middle segment set - like a 7-segment "3" missing the top and bottom horizontal segments. It didn't do much. I have no idea who the vendor was, but it was no larger than a desk-top calculator on a pedestal card. They took it The next one I played with was a Plato terminal at OSU, and a DECwriter II with acoustic coupler, dialed into a (I think) RSTS machine to play BASIC games. The first one I had unlimited access to was a 4K PET at the downtown public library, circa 1977. The first one I owned was a 32K PET 2001 w/BASIC 2.0, white phosphor, and a single C2N - $1,100 slightly used (less than a fortnight before it was returned to the dealer by the initial purchaser), in 1978 or 1979. The second one I owned was a Quest Elf kit. Third was a C-64 that I got at my first-ever job, programming it for money six months before it was released (my employer got one direct from C= as a freebie for development). I was 15 when I started using it, 17 when they gave it to me. My first mini was a PDP-8/L - $35 plus some trade goods (the contents of my pockets and everything in my arms at the time) at the Dayton Hamvention in 1982. I didn't see any docs until 1984. I'd mostly fixed it, but I got one M111 out of place near the A40 spot (by the power- fail/restart card) and it didn't *exactly* work until I saw the prints, spotted the gap and moved the right card over one spot to the right place. It's now the one I show off to guests, complete with ASR-33 and high-speed punch and reader. I have, more or less, those first computers and beyond. I say more or less because that first C-64 was replaced under warranty and I don't have that precise one... pity, really... it was S/N 000002007. I _do_ have the replacement, S/N 000002354. The reason it was replaced was that initial VIC chip had a bug that caused it to generate a light-pen interrupt when it got hot (3-4 hours of use in an un-airconditioned room). Since there was no IRQ handler, it went to the blue-on-blue screen with "READY.", as if you hit the RUN-STOP/RESTORE keys. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com

On Mon, 28 Jan 2002, John Chris Wren wrote: Wow, Thanks. The original schematics would be very useful. The MM-II board that goes into the Apple II has over one third of the board potted in an orange epoxy substance. I don't think I could ever work up the nerve to dissect one of these units :) A very interesting bit of hardware. I've never had a chance to see one in person, only pictures of old units. I never could figure out why Hayes designed and sold these units. Did they have a precision clock? -Toth