Old IBM's...

From: Wirehead Prime <wirehead_at_retrocomputing.com>
Date: Mon Mar 16 19:44:50 1998

Ditto! But I have more to say below.

> > Is it this dearth of technical information that accounts for the lack of
> > interest in collecting old IBM?
>
In my case, it's not the dearth of technical information that makes me
not collect old IBMs; it's the over-abundance in my area of old IBMs to
collect. There's no CHALLENGE in it! I could fill my entire house with
just the equipment I get offered on a monthly basis! I do have a few
of the original PC, XT and AT with various hard to find options...which I
acquired entirely against my will as a prerequisite to acquiring some
S100 hardware I really DID want. As for mainframe type gear...I simply
have no affection for it whatsoever! I did my first for-pay programming
on PDPs, did my initial hacking on Commodores, Apples and CP/M machines,
moved later into Vaxen and started getting into the more...er...esoteric
machines like S100 boxes and older PDP hardware when I had enough
technical experience to have a clue what I was doing. IBM mainframes
simply represent no emotions for me of any kind so I don't collect them.
 
> I don't just collect classics to look nice on the shelf/floor. I enjoy
> understanding how they work, how they relate (technically) to other
> machines, etc. And I enjoy repairing them to component level. With no
> chance of getting schematics or low-level software info, and with a
> machine packed full of custom chips that I haven't a hope of finding,
> these tasks are going to be impossible.
>
I DON'T enjoy repairing things without schematics! And I'm still fairly
new to component level repair. But now that I've started doing it,
despite the challenge it represents (or because of it), I've really been
enjoying myself.

[BTW, the problem with the SWTPC was NOT the 7474 oddly enough! I was
heart-broken...oh well at least that chip is now socketed nicely. But,
with the schematics etc, I now will be going MUCH deeper into the machine
to figure out what its problem is and I'm believing in myself enough to
do so.]

> With my PDP11/45 (for example), I have the
printset (schematics,
> microcode flowcharts, binary dumps of all the roms), the maintenance
> manual (including a cycle-by-cycle description of the microcode), the
> user manual (how to program it in machine code) and the bus handbook
> (what the Unibus is supposed to do). And that's just for the processor...

That's how it is with the PDP-8i's. I've got everything for them...spare
parts, manuals, printsets, paper tape, 3 machines to build 2 working
machines out of...etc etc etc blah blah blah...so I'm looking forward
GREATLY to getting them up and running again. And, of course, the
stories of PDP-8s being kicked down stairs and still working gives me
hope in general! =-)

I can't think of a good analogy but collecting IBM gear just feels to me
a bit like collecting aircraft without a pilot's license. They're neat
but too hard to get off the ground unless you have the proper background.
Whereas PDP's are at least minimally similar (S100 boxes as well) to what
you EXPECT a computer to act like compared to what you read in books or
may have experienced with more modern machines. They're like collecting
cars...which EVERYONE has had at least SOME experience riding in or
operating.

Anthony Clifton - Wirehead

PS: Not that I don't respect those who do collect IBM hardware. It is
kind of neat but feels generally alien and bizarre. Which only makes me
respect more those who collect it.
Received on Mon Mar 16 1998 - 19:44:50 GMT