How many computers?

From: dave dameron <ddameron_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Tue Jul 14 15:40:16 1998

At 06:41 PM 7/14/98 GMT, you wrote:
>> I was just wondering, how many computers do all you have out there???
>

Not many, 10 to 20, and some I don't know if to count, such as
pc boards with a 6802, 2716, and 2 6821 ic's. I think they came from a cash
register system. Others like XT motherboards...
1. Mixed brand S-100 System. Either Flashwriter display or serial to Heatkit
H19 terminal. Extra crate and misc cards.
2. Various PC clones. I am using a 386 now. No Pentiums or higher.
3. A few Z-80 test computers. 8 or so ic's on a single board.
4. 80188 board computer for "Radio Electronics" Robot.
5. Homebrew game of "life" computer. (1973)
6. Calculator built from neon bulb "shift register counters". Input is a
rotary telephone dial. I think subtraction was "1's complements". (about 1968)

Interesting peripherals from late 1970's when I was going a lot.
1. SWTP CT-1024 modified for 64 columns and graphics. Hope to get this
working again with some computer.
2. Sylvanhills flat bed plotter. Used DC motors and opto-interruptor wheels
which I replaced with stepper motors.
3. Stepper motor 3 axis wax carver. Used cylindrical coordinates. The wax block
rotated on a turntable.

Literature, including
First 7 years of Byte.
First few years of Dr. Dobbs, the bound volumes, I didn't keep the
individual issues.
2 of the Creative Computer games books.
10 issues of "Computer Hobbyist", I have just found the remaining issues.
Documentation for Scelbi 8H and other 8008 stuff.
Other construction type books.

Various parts, including a box of RTL ic's, 1101 memory's.
There apparently was an ad in 1967 "CQ" for an RTL computer.

>> DIGI-COMP 1 (an educational toy from 1963)
>
>Way cool. I had access to one in high school, to play with, but I never
>owned one. I've written to Edmund Scientific. They get the occasional
>letter inquiring about the DigiComp 1, but so far, not enough interest
>to resurrect the product.

Yes, it would be fun to find things like this. I still have the 3 potentiometer
"analog" computer I built for some science fair. The Digicomp I cost $5.95
in 1969 from Edmund Sci. Others were various mechanical (Dr. Nim) and
electronic NIM players, Computers like "Brainac", and later in 1971, a
National Radio Institute computer
using 53 TTL ic's. Have seen only ad's. A RCA projects book I have has a
"slot machine" built from individual transistors for flip flops, gates,
multivibrators, etc. It "computed" the score, so was a calculator of sorts.

Speaking of books,
has anyone seen the book "We Built our own Computers" by A.B. Holt,
Cambridge Univ. Press, published about 1966.
-Dave
Received on Tue Jul 14 1998 - 15:40:16 BST