Restoration technique [Was: Re: Bay Area: IBM 4341 and HP3000]

[Noel Chiappa]

    > From: Robert Jarratt

    > It wouldn't be hard to create a wiki where this kind of information is
    > collected
    > ...
    > Isn't there someone on the list who has been offering lots of server
    > capacity? It could be hosted there.

Umm, that might have been me - I have offered to host things on a number of
occasions, and do in fact host the older ClassicComputers archives (the newer
ones are^H^H^Hwere at www.classiccmp.org).

I'm not sure I can help in this case, though. I do have access to a lot of
space (so hosting the archives is not a big deal), _but_ i) I'm a guest on
this machine, and hosting active content like a wiki would be something I'd
have to get OK'd, and ii) technically, hosting a wiki is a whole different
ball of wax from hosting static content (which I can just put in place, and
forget), and I'm not sure I have the time/energy.


If someone did, that would be great, because I think a wiki about restoring
old computers would be a really powerful resource. Not for detailed technical
content (as someone already pointed out, we have the manuals), but for:

- Articles laying out how to start, where to get stuff, what you need to
	know (with lists of recommended books/etc in fields such as digital
	logic, etc, etc)
- Articles on what tools/etc it's useful to to have, and recommendations for
	manufacturers, models etc (e.g. an oscilloscope is pretty much a
	must), and where to find them cheap
- Lists of which systems are good targets (because they're easy to find,
	have good documentation available, parts availability is good,
	etc, etc)
- Articles on specific topics which aren't covered in literature (e.g. the
	whole discussion about capacitor reforming; the heat soak for old
	tapes/floppies, etc)
- Etc, etc, etc.

All stuff that's not really written down anywhere, but which a beginning
collector (especially one who didn't work on these things 'back in the day')
would find invaluable.

	Noel