What are the chances that a "collector," that being a personality type rather than just a person who saves old stuff, would go for one of these largely phony (except the front panel) IMSAI-2 as a collectible? I'd have trouble swallowing that anyone could be taken in to that extent. You won't have much trouble convincing me that there are lots of people out there who'd pay $1k for what is essentially a reproduction, no matter how authentic in places and inauthentic in others. The motto to which many people live is "appearance over substance" and that would certainly apply here. OTOH, it's hard to be discriminating where ALTAIR and IMSAI are concerned. I'm not even sure whether either of them produced a truly complete and functional board set. If a system is going to be viewed as authentic, then it has to be more than just housed in an authentic box. If it has a Tarbell FDC, then it's not an IMSAI in the true sense of the word. Now, if IMSAI didn't ever make an FDC, then there's room for debate. It's the same way with ALTAIR. If you want to claim you have an ALTAIR computer running in your basement then what's down there had best be ALTAIR stuff, not just an ALTAIR CPU in a Morrow box with a CCS FDC and a COMPUPRO serial board. If you have an Integrand box, I guess you can call your computer an Integrand no matter what's in it, since they only made the boxes, right? I think that's the mentality that drives the eBay prices up. If you have a VERY pretty Daimler Benz hood ornament, with Chevrolet wheels, a Ford engine, a BMW emblem on the rear bonnet of a Corvair, with a Corvette steering wheel, what do you call your car (not that those parts would play together) ? For the collector, it's VERY important that all the parts fit, not just essentially, but exactly. That means that if IMSAI made one (whatever that might be), your system isn't complete without it. If you restore your '57 Chevy with parts carefully sought out at the junkyards within a 1000 mile radius of your home, and with "real" parts and real lead in the body work, and original upholstery, etc, it's not the same as the one built from whatever after-market parts you could find. It may look good, but it isn't "real" is it? Dick -----Original Message----- From: Sellam Ismail <dastar(a)ncal.verio.com> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu> Date: Thursday, August 19, 1999 12:01 PM Subject: Re: imsal 2 dastar(a)siconic.com ---