Well, I finally got around to picking up a Nicolet computer that's been
waiting for me at California State University Sacramento for the better
part of a year. Along the way a heap of HP stuff was added to the pile,
and I ended up having a whole trailer full of rackmount gear, racks, punch
card readers, disk packs, paper tape, and more.
Since I'm sure not many of you have ever heard of Nicolet Instrument
Corporation (Madison, Wisconsin), I'll tell you what I know so far. The
NIC-1080 is a 20-bit computer circa 1972. It has an assembler and a BASIC
via paper tape programs. I haven't determined how much memory it has yet,
although the computer has core in it, and I got a second Extended Memory
Unit (a separate box).
When it was decommissioned a couple years back it was still fully
functional. The computer is integrated into a big console with an o-scope
display and a plotter. This machine used to be connected to a magnetic
resonance imaging unit weighing several tons that was thankfully hauled
away by scrappers last year. It has special circuitry for doing fast
fourier transforms. It came with a Diablo 5meg removeable hard drive in
a separate rack, along with a Decitek paper tape reader (serial
interface). The computer has a serial interface, and a TI Silent 700 came
along with it, which was the primary console.
I also got a couple big boxes filled to the brim with paper tape software.
Nicolet formed a "Nicolet User's Society" whereby user's could submit
programs, and so there is plenty of public domain software on
punched-tape.
I also got a complete set of spare boards for the computer. The spares
came out of another Nicolet which was dismantled. The other Nicolet came
from the China Lake Naval testing facility in the Mojave Desert so I'm
sure it performed some interesting calculations in its day.
Its a pretty fascinating machine. Its about the size of an upright piano
and weighs around 300 pounds. If you want to know more about it just ask.
If anyone wants to see pictures I can post them to the Vintage Computer
Festival web page.
I also got a whole pile of cool HP stuff, including a 9830B Calculator
with a whole bevy of peripherals, a couple punch card readers, a printer,
plotter.
Here's a complete list of the haul:
Nicolet 1080 Computer
NIC 1080E Extended Memory Unit (core memory)
Decitek Paper Tape Reader
NIC Disc Memory Coupler
Diablo Systems Inc. Series 30 Disk Drive (7 disk packs)
TI Silent 700 (thermal paper terminal)
Complete Nicolet paper tape library (over 100 different paper tapes
including debuggers, assemblers, BASIC, misc. programs)
Complete set of spare boards for Nicolet
HP 9830B Calculator
Complete manual set
About 20 program cassettes
ROM Packs
FP-78 Batch BASIC (Infotek Systems)
Ext. I/O ROM Eliminator (Infotek Systems)
FP-96 Data Communications I (Infotek Systems)
11273B Mass Memory
Mass Memory II (Infotek Systems)
Infotek Systems FD-30A Mass Memory (8-inch drive for 9830, stacks on top
of 9830)
HP 9866A Printer (stacks on top of FD-30A)
HP 9862A Calculator Plotter
HP 9869A Calculator Card Reader
HP 2761A Optical Mark Reader
HP 9868A I/O Expander
PS. I committed the stupidest mistake any computer collector could. I
totally forgot about the disk pack loaded into the hard drive. I never
checked to make sure the heads were locked. In my defense, I couldn't
remove the pack because the unit won't let the drive door be opened
without power. Does anyone know about the Diablo Series 30 and what the
proper procedure would be for locking the heads? Is the disk pack in
their most likely messed up now?
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar_at_siconic.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever onward.
September 26 & 27...Vintage Computer Festival 2
See
http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!
[Last web page update: 05/30/98]
Received on Fri Jun 05 1998 - 13:39:35 BST