What's the rarest or most unusual computer-related item do you own? [Tek 4132]

[geneb]

On Tue, 17 Jan 2017, Jon Elson wrote:

> On 01/17/2017 01:50 PM, geneb wrote:
>> 
>> I used to work on a 727 flight simulator that used a Varian 620 to generate 
>> the visuals.  The display was capable of addressing 1024 points of light 
>> and that's how the runways and airport outline were drawn. Pretty neat 
>> stuff.  Here's some pics of the system that ran the sim:
>> http://flightweb.simpits.org/BehindTheScenes/727sim_page1.html 
>> 
> Was that a McDonnell Vital system?  That's where the Varian I had came from. 
> Vital II had stroke writing and variable beam width, ideal for painting the 
> runway, stripes, numbers, etc.
>
It's a Vital I.  I don't recall a McDonnell branding though.  I _think_ 
the 727-100 sim was built by Conductron-Missouri, which was the same 
company that build the 737-200 that was located in the next room.

> Yeah, I think the rack cabinet I have matches the one in your photo.

Nice!

The sad thing is, both sims are gone.  Simulator Training went bankrupt 
due to the aviation industry disruption caused by 9/11.  A guy from 
Boeing/Alteon showed up with a corporate credit card.  I didn't have 
the resources to bid against him. :( The 727 went for $1200 and the $737 went
for $1500. Both sims were fully operational and both were purposefully 
destroyed after purchase.

g.

-- 
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