Upon the date 07:27 PM 12/9/99 -0500, John B said something like:
>I have requested a copy of all the patents and info regarding the PDP-8/S
>and the GRI-909. I will post them too.
>
>I asked him for a GRI-909 but....
>
>Unfortunately he thought no one was interested in the 8/S or the GRI-909 so
>he hauled them both to the dump 6 years ago.
>
>:-( :-( :-( :-( , etc....
>
>I am *really* unhappy about that......
Yeah, but who wudda thunk? Six years ago, except for a few individuals and
some of the public museums and a few companies, nobody had really gotten
very deep into gathering history/collecting of computers. Though I had been
exclusively into collecting radios and other early electronics rather
deeply since the early 70's, I was recalling to myself just today how I had
a *huge* and *heavy* 1973-vintage DG 6000-series fixed disk drive I
dismantled for scrap in 1986 because I had *no* room nor perceived need for
it (Flog me later, please :-/). No idea that there would be *gasp!*
_COLLECTORS_ of such stuff by the mid-late 90's!!! Thankfully, I still
have the DG 1200 computer, tapes, docs and stuff since I thought it was a
really cool machine to keep at the time. Rescued this DG gear from the pile
of stuff heading to the dumpster at work in 1984. Thank Heaven I was able
to get connected to the Internet in '92 via Delphi and discover there
_were_ computer collectors.
Nowadays, thankfully, there is a growing core of individuals (ourselves)
who have discovered this computer collecting/preservation interest and are
taking up the cause. It appears to me there is getting to be a very good
overall collection worldwide of surviving older machines with possibly more
to be shaken outta the bushes. Perhaps it is indeed time to formally create
a national/worldwide club like the AWA, etc. -except it'll be for
computational machines.
I'm going to will my most uncommon/significant radios, tubes, docs and, if
I find any, significant computers to appropriate museums and significant
collectors when my hard disk finally gets sticktion :-) Sell/give the rest
to others. All in the interest to keep them preserved for the future
instead of my wife/other survivers being saddled with wondering what the
heck to do with them.
But many early computers are lost forever . . .
Regards, Chris
-- --
Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian
Jamestown, NY USA cfandt_at_netsync.net
Member of Antique Wireless Association
URL:
http://www.antiquewireless.org/
Received on Thu Dec 09 1999 - 20:32:27 GMT