Re. imsai 2 - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

20 Aug 1999

On Thu, 19 Aug 1999 12:29:34 -0500, Jeffrey l Kaneko &lt;jeff.kaneko(a)juno.com&gt;
wrote:

...
 I had several conversations with Tom Fischer over the
last {snip}
>Not to mention recent E-Bay prices. 
    Amen to that. The recent prices are certainly an incentive for one to
try his hand again.

...
  And, could the "mainframe" actually cost
that much??
 Switches: 22@$5=$110. PS=$50. Backplane=$75. Sheetmetal=$250.
FP=$100. Maybe I have a warped idea of what this stuff costs, but I was
expecting a lower number.
>I dunno, your price breakdown sounds alright to me.  Mebbe he
>figured that these are 'hand crafted' hence have some kinda snob
>appeal. 
    As Tim mentioned, my PS number is low. I was figuring on the included
ATX PeeCee power supply. I'd bet the transformer alone in the old IMSAIs was
*at least* the $50.

    I also agree with the snob appeal, although I don't know if it would be
the "hand-made" part, or alternatively, about "it was made by the same guy
who made the old ones."

...
  I have some old S100 cards to play around with, but I
only
 have a non-working Northstar Horizon. So, I would be Tom's target
 audience. I would prefer a kit, though, since I have the skill level
 and interest to assemble one myself. 
...
 >Well that was the whole point, wasn't it, eh? 
You built it yourself
>because you a) Had more time than money or b) That's the only way
>you could get it.  I dunno about you, but I certainly fell into the
>'more time than money' category (and *still* couldn't afford it).
>
>I believe his target audience has 'more money than {time | brains}'.
>I dunno Rich, I always figured you as a pretty smart guy.  Maybe
>on a budget, too.  Would be better just to buy the 'unique' bits,
>and piece one together yourself (utilizing the PSU of your choice). 
    Thanks for the compliment :-) I wasn't focused on computers when the
original IMSAI was available. I was about , dunno, maybe 11. So, I certainly
didn't have the money. I did have time, though.

    Now, I have much less time and more money, but I'd still prefer to build
my own. $$$ are always a concern, but the deal with my wife is what ever I
make from freelance computer writing, I can use for my hobby. Sweet deal,
huh??

    A custom PS would be nice (I've always liked building power supplies). I
wouldn't be opposed to piecing a system together myself, but by the time you
piece together the HTF parts (such as the FP, the backplane, and the case),
you have 70% of the unit. I think that an unassembled kit for $599 would be
OK.

...
 >BTW, what's wrong with your Horizon (just
curious)? 
    Don't really know. I have no info on some of the boards, so I don't know
if the jumpers are set for the right addresses. I also can't verify that the
backplane serial ports work, or even if the on-board ports work or floppy
controller works. Power supply is good, though :). Basically I'm in the
dark.

    I gave up last year because I started to renovate the basement. Now that
that's done, this winter, I'll probably start fiddling with it again.

    Somewhere around here, I have a list of my boards I can send you. Most
of the boards are Vector Graphics (ZCB, RAM, ROM), though.

...
  Conclusion:  although I want an IMSAI badly, I
don't think
 that I'm prepared to spend $1k for an out-of-the-box non-functional
 machine.
>Ah yes, as I suspected, you're way too smart to be drawn into this
>'Techno chic' marketing shtick.  That's all it is: chic.  This guy's
>just trying to 'make hay while the sun shines'. 
    I think that it's a load of crap. Old computers for the masses. Ruins it
for the rest of us. Next thing you know, the Antiques Road Show will have an
"antique computer" eposode.

...
  If I were buying an "old" non-functional
IMSAI, at least I could
 restore it to functioning status. I wouldn't pay $1k for that one,
 either.
>True, although this would be the way to go, assuming the price is
>right.  Even if you just have a pile of old boards, as i said before,
>just get the 'unique' stuff, then fill in the gaps with off-the-shelf
>items. That's essentially what we did in the old days. 
    This would be my ideal project. Just as long as the FP fascia is intact,
I think that I could handle everything else. I have a huge box of random
S100 cards just waiting for a working home...

-----------------------------------
[  Rich Cini/WUGNET
[   ClubWin!/CW7
[   MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
[   Collector of "classic" computers
[   http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/
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