19 May
1998
19 May
'98
6:17 a.m.
I have a Heathkit EC-1 analog computer in operational condition with
the patch cables, assortment of caps and resistors plus the operating
manual. I have entertained selling this (robbing Peter to pay Paul) to
help fund a 1939 pre-war television acquisition. A dilemma. Should I
part with the EC-1 I doubt I will ever find another. As toward the
value of the EC-1 I don't have a clue but would like to know what
anyone else thinks a fair price would be.
-Marty
______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Computer Values
Author: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu at internet
Date: 5/15/98 5:38 PM
On Thu, 14 May 1998, Marvin wrote:
a TRS-80 Model 4P and a Coco 2. IMNSHO, the values of
all computers will
vary greatly depending on the knowledge and experience of the person
doing the valuation. Hmmm, sounds just like *every* other form of
collecting.
I used to collect coins when I was a kid, and the Blue Book (wholesale
values) and Red Book (retail values) were my bibles. Coins had a pretty
good grading system, and you could find fairly reliable production data.
I don't know of anybody that has tried to do anything close to this for
computers.
I, for one, do like to see what E-Bay is doing. I
kept track for a
while of the people who were bidding on the stuff, and there were a
number of people there who were collectors. Last year, I was bidding on
a Sol-20, and the guy who outbid me won the bid at $800 or so. High? I
talked with the guy later on, and the machine was in mint condition, had
all the original documentation, and also included some of the
peripherals. The Altairs that have been sold there are *all* selling
below the prices I have seen for similar systems.
eBay and other online auctions are probably the best gauges of prices
there are, because they represent fairly efficient markets. In fact, some
online auctions that move their own inventory do regression analysis that
tells them more or less what price they can expect to get for any given
item. If somebody were to do the same analysis on person-to-person
auction data, that would be a very good starting place for a price
guide (especially from an auction like Haggle Online that also stores
condition, make, and model information :-).
If you only look at one or two anecdotal transactions, that doesn't tell
you much.
FWIW, I tend to value my collection in the millions of
dollars. And
that is probably conservative ... if one were to go back in time and
look at what the stuff cost new :).
The real question is what value does your insurance company place on your
collect. My guess is that they would value an Apple 1 based on a twenty
year depreciation starting with a $666 basis!
BTW, if, hypothetically, I were to find somebody willing to sell me a
Heathkit EC-1 analog computer in good condition, what value would you
experts assign to it, and what would you base your valuation on?
-- Doug
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From: Doug Yowza <yowza(a)yowza.com>
To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers"
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Computer Values
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19 May
19 May
12:51 p.m.
On Tue, 19 May 1998, Marty wrote:
I have a Heathkit EC-1 analog computer in operational
condition with
the patch cables, assortment of caps and resistors plus the operating
manual. I have entertained selling this (robbing Peter to pay Paul) to
help fund a 1939 pre-war television acquisition. A dilemma. Should I
part with the EC-1 I doubt I will ever find another. As toward the
value of the EC-1 I don't have a clue but would like to know what
anyone else thinks a fair price would be.
I would estimate a fair price for a Heathkit EC-1 to be in the thousands.
Certainly more than a measly Altair since its plenty older and a whole lot
more rare, and a lot more intersting.
I'd say, if you really want to sell it, and get a good price for it, post
it on eBay with all the requisite hoopla (ie. "@@@RARE!!! COLLECTOR'S
ITEM!!!@@@") and put a reserve price of $2500 on it (or whatever the
minimum is that you'd like to get, but don't sell yourself short on this
one). Or, if you don't want to be cheesy, a nice tame title with a
descriptive item description will work just as well. If you like us folks
here enough, you could consider auctioning it on the list.
Your call. Personally, I would keep it.
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever onward.
September 26 & 27...Vintage Computer Festival 2
See http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!
[Last web page update: 05/11/98]
29 May
29 May
4:22 p.m.
New subject: EC-1 (was Re: Re[2]: Computer Values)
On Tue, 19 May 1998, Marty wrote:
I have a Heathkit EC-1 analog computer in operational
condition with
the patch cables, assortment of caps and resistors plus the operating
manual. I have entertained selling this (robbing Peter to pay Paul) to
help fund a 1939 pre-war television acquisition. A dilemma. Should I
part with the EC-1 I doubt I will ever find another. As toward the
value of the EC-1 I don't have a clue but would like to know what
anyone else thinks a fair price would be.
FWIW, I was just in the middle of purchasing one. Right *after* the
paperwork and logistics for the deal was complete, the seller accepted
another offer of $1700 for *my* EC-1.
So, that appears to be the going rate for a pretty-good condition EC-1.
In the process, I did manage to get the assembly manual for an EC-1, so
now that I know how expensive they are, maybe I'll just build my own. If
I get the time, I'll try to scan and web-ize the assembly manual. I don't
recall seeing any hard-to-get parts in the parts list.
I don't have the operations manual, but the assembly manual did include
the patch-configuration for a bouncing ball simulation and one or two
others.
I'd say the EC-1 is a pretty good candidate for the first personal
computer. It was intro'd in 1960 for around $300.
-- Doug
5 p.m.
New subject: EC-1 (was Re: Re[2]: Computer Values)
In the process, I did manage to get the assembly
manual for an EC-1, so
now that I know how expensive they are, maybe I'll just build my own. If
I get the time, I'll try to scan and web-ize the assembly manual. I don't
recall seeing any hard-to-get parts in the parts list.
FWIW, the company that currently sells Heathkit manual reprints doesn't
look too kindly on people publishing web manuals from what I've heard.
I'd sure like to publish my stash too if I could do so without getting sued.
--
_______ KB7PWD @ KC7Y.AZ.US.NOAM ecloud(a)goodnet.com
(_ | |_) Shawn T. Rutledge on the web: http://www.goodnet.com/~ecloud
__) | | \__________________________________________________________________
* eschew obfuscation * OO * Star Trek * alternative energy * sci fi *
5:19 p.m.
New subject: EC-1 (was Re: Re[2]: Computer Values)
At 07:00 PM 5/29/98 -0700, you wrote:
Do you mean the pirates disapprove of other pirates?
Joe
In the
process, I did manage to get the assembly manual for an EC-1, so
now that I know how expensive they are, maybe I'll just build my own. If
I get the time, I'll try to scan and web-ize the assembly manual. I don't
recall seeing any hard-to-get parts in the parts list.
FWIW, the company that currently sells Heathkit manual reprints doesn't
look too kindly on people publishing web manuals from what I've heard.
I'd sure like to publish my stash too if I could do so without getting sued.
5:23 p.m.
New subject: EC-1 (was Re: Re[2]: Computer Values)
On Fri, 29 May 1998, Shawn Rutledge wrote:
FWIW, the company that currently sells Heathkit manual
reprints doesn't
look too kindly on people publishing web manuals from what I've heard.
I'd sure like to publish my stash too if I could do so without getting sued.
Hmm, I know that any patents associated with the EC-1 have expired by
now, but I don't recall how long a copyright lasts (more than 38 years, I
suspect).
-- Doug
9551
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5 comments
5 participants
participants (5)
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dastar＠wco.com -
ecloud＠goodnet.com -
Marty＠itgonline.com -
rigdonj＠intellistar.net -
yowza＠yowza.com