Historical Research

From: Marvin <marvin_at_rain.org>
Date: Mon Jun 23 23:40:26 1997

William Donzelli wrote:
>
> > One of the things *I* think would be really useful for collectors is to
> > know the number of computers manufactured, both total and by year. The
> > only problem is in getting this information; anyone have any ideas,
>
> Serial numbers DO lie, but they are often the only clues left. One source
> of serial numbers (other than those on the machines) is maintenance
> documents - especially those concerning ECOs. Often they have notes to
> the techinicians concerning which machines (by ranges of serials) get the
> treatments.
>

I guess another thing that would be useful would be the initial starting
point of the serial numbers for each computer. I find by looking at the
date code on the ICs, I can get *some* idea of when a machine was
actually built. Of course, that assumes that the chips were used
shortly after they were made, and I generally look at a variety of chips
to find the latest date code. I hadn't thought of ECO's; that sounds
like a good idea. Thanks!
Received on Mon Jun 23 1997 - 23:40:26 BST