Is there a way to tell your reproduction from an original? /P On Mon, Jun 08, 2015 at 01:19:41PM +0100, Rod Smallwood wrote: > Hi All > Since I released the picture of the first 8/e panel on > Friday there has been a big response. > Its 12:45 local on Monday in the UK and I'm of to the silk screeners > to collect the rest of the first batch and to arrange for more > to be printed as soon as I get the blanks from the plastics supplier. > I'll send out what I have to fullfill as many of the orders I have > so far as I can. > > I have learned an awful lot just based on the inquires I have so far. > I see the following as requirements > > > 1. Full size reproductions of the original panels useing > the same methods. > > 2. High quality > > 3. Custom one off service for important restorations. > > 4. There's more demand than I thought. > > 5. So far its all been for DEC systems > > > And yes they would look good just hung on the wall > > Next up an accurate reproduction of the bezel. > > And after that a lamps and switches board when and if I solve the > Stackpole switch levers issue. > > Please send in your orders so I can allocate production/shipping slots. > > Regards > > Rod Smallwood > > > > >

Suggestion: it?s a good practice in general for replicas to be marked explictly as a replica. The marking can be very small and inconspicuous, but it seems like good form to have one.

-----Original Message----- From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Rod Smallwood Sent: 08 June 2015 18:54 To: General at classiccmp.org; Discussion at classiccmp.org:On-Topic and Off- Topic Posts Subject: Re: Front Panel Update Hi Its a full size 8/e front panel. Its made to be a replacement for damaged front panels on real PDP8/e's I doubt it would fit anything else. There is a possibility of a lights and switches panel to go with it if we can solve the problem of the lack of the lever operated switches that are a feature of the PDP8 However its a case of if you don't have an 8/e now or are building one then this panel is not for you. Rod G8DGR On 08/06/2015 18:21, Dave G4UGM wrote: ... can. >> >> I have learned an awful lot just based on the inquires I have so far. >> I see the following as requirements >> >> >> 1. Full size reproductions of the original panels useing the >> same methods. >> >> 2. High quality >> >> 3. Custom one off service for important restorations. >> >> 4. There's more demand than I thought. >> >> 5. So far its all been for DEC systems >> >> >> And yes they would look good just hung on the wall >> >> Next up an accurate reproduction of the bezel. >> >> And after that a lamps and switches board when and if I solve the >> Stackpole switch levers issue. >> >> Please send in your orders so I can allocate production/shipping slots. >> >> Regards >> >> Rod Smallwood >> >> >> >> >

-----Original Message----- From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Rod Smallwood Sent: 08 June 2015 19:29 To: General at classiccmp.org; Discussion at classiccmp.org:On-Topic and Off- Topic Posts Subject: Re: Front Panel Update Theres an 8/f which replaced the 8/e and has a similar front panel with extra markings The 8/m - OEM no front panel The 8/I has different front panel The 8/A is a totally different box altogether The 8/e was the big seller with thousands shipped On 08/06/2015 19:16, Dave G4UGM wrote: supplier. >>>> I'll send out what I have to fullfill as many of the orders I have >>>> so far as I >> can. >>>> I have learned an awful lot just based on the inquires I have so far. >>>> I see the following as requirements >>>> >>>> >>>> 1. Full size reproductions of the original panels useing the >>>> same methods. >>>> >>>> 2. High quality >>>> >>>> 3. Custom one off service for important restorations. >>>> >>>> 4. There's more demand than I thought. >>>> >>>> 5. So far its all been for DEC systems >>>> >>>> >>>> And yes they would look good just hung on the wall >>>> >>>> Next up an accurate reproduction of the bezel. >>>> >>>> And after that a lamps and switches board when and if I solve the >>>> Stackpole switch levers issue. >>>> >>>> Please send in your orders so I can allocate production/shipping slots. >>>> >>>> Regards >>>> >>>> Rod Smallwood >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >

Theres an 8/f which replaced the 8/e and has a similar front panel with

The 8/m - OEM no front panel The 8/I has different front panel The 8/A is a totally different box altogether The 8/e was the big seller with thousands shipped

Got both an 8/M with a front, and an 8/F. I don't remember that there are any differences in color, but my memory might just have bit errors. Also not sure what the "extra markings" would be on the 8/F. As far as I can recall, the 8/F,8/M are darker than the 8/E, but I don't remember there being much else that differs, unless you count the model designation text.

On Jun 8, 2015, at 21:49 , Bob Rosenbloom <bobalan at sbcglobal.net> wrote: I have an 8/M that came in blue. http://www.dvq.com/oldcomp/photos2/1k/dec8m1.jpg

not to mention the red/ blue used in industrial systems. On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 11:49 PM, Bob Rosenbloom <bobalan at sbcglobal.net> wrote: > On 6/8/2015 9:41 PM, Pontus Pihlgren wrote: > >> On Mon, Jun 08, 2015 at 11:18:50PM +0200, Johnny Billquist wrote: >> >>> Got both an 8/M with a front, and an 8/F. I don't remember that >>> there are any differences in color, but my memory might just have >>> bit errors. >>> >>> Also not sure what the "extra markings" would be on the 8/F. As far >>> as I can recall, the 8/F,8/M are darker than the 8/E, but I don't >>> remember there being much else that differs, unless you count the >>> model designation text. >>> >>> The 8/e comes in two shades of orange/brown. That might account >> of the difference you two are talking about. >> >> /P >> >> I have an 8/M that came in blue. > http://www.dvq.com/oldcomp/photos2/1k/dec8m1.jpg > > Bob > > -- > Vintage computers and electronics > www.dvq.com > www.tekmuseum.com > www.decmuseum.org > >

On Tue, 9 Jun 2015, Pontus Pihlgren wrote: Are these pictures of panels you own? I procured one of those "chocolate" 11/70 panels a few years ago for another list member.

From: Rod Smallwood: Monday, June 08, 2015 11:28 AM I hate to mention it, but I believe that the rotary switch on the 8/E panels was replaced at some point with one that has a different number of degrees per "click". So it would also be necessary to match the artwork to the rotary switch. Vince

On Mon, Jun 08, 2015 at 04:38:15PM -0700, Vincent Slyngstad wrote: Correct, there is also some additional differences with the white "frames" arround the rotary switch. Additionally the colour is darker on one of them. I have both, if you want I can make a more detailed comparison. Then there is the production site. Perhaps the you should put your hometown on yours to make them distinct from the originals. /P

I?m not sure if that?s completely true. I remember a PDP11 (11/45 probably) at the University of Illinois, around 1975. It was used as a terminal controller for ARPAnet. The system was called ANTS (not sure what that stands for), and it had a custom logo panel for the top of the H960 racks, in red and yellow, showing large ants crawling all along the cabinets. Not allowing the logo to be changed would make sense, since that is one of the rules of trademarks: you risk losing a trademark if you don?t use it consistently, for example if you create or allow variations of what was registered. paul

> DEC was very keen on its OEM business and if the order was big enough would allow some variation in > colours but would not allow the dec logo to be removed or changed.

I?m not sure if that?s completely true. I remember a PDP11 (11/45 probably) at the University of Illinois, around

Not allowing the logo to be changed would make sense, since that is one of the rules of trademarks: you risk losing a trademark if you don?t use it consistently, for example if you create or allow variations of what was registered.

WTF? Varian was a competitor of DEC. They made minis themselves. Sounds extremely strange that one would take a DEC mini, and put a Varian badge on it. Did someone try to make a joke?

Interesting. Varian is a microwave equipment company; I have one of their TWTs sitting on my H960 at home. Vacuum equipment, I could believe that. But yes, Varian made a 16 bit minicomputer; I had a handbook for it at one time (now lost, I suspect). And if memory serves, the reason is that there was one in the Computer Science department at the University of Illinois where I studied. I remember nothing about the architecture, other than the fact it supported user microprogramming. Possibly the OEM PDP8 predates that device. Or possibly it wasn?t enough of a competitor for DEC to stop doing OEM business with Varian. paul

Interesting. Varian is a microwave equipment company; I have one of their TWTs sitting on my H960 at home. Vacuum equipment, I could believe that. But yes, Varian made a 16 bit minicomputer; I had a handbook for it at

duell their systems. I once had a Varian computer, well the local computer club had a Varian. I can't remember what happened to it. A friend used to work for them mostly I think on gas chromatographs... Dave

On Jun 9, 2015, at 7:21 PM, Paul Anderson <useddec at gmail.com> wrote: Was that in the "Astromony building" on Goodwin located next to CSL? It was not on contract with us, at least not very often. I worked on it several times. It had 2 DB11- unibus repeaters on it, and was supposedly the longest bus ever. Paul