Doesn't this just make you sick! Altair

From: Joe <rigdonj_at_intellistar.net>
Date: Thu Apr 20 18:35:04 2000

        Hi All,

  A couple of years ago I picked up a second Altair. It was missing all the
cards except for a Godbout active terminator card and is missing the top
case. While working on it a couple of weeks ago I found a previous owner's
name in it. It recognized the name, it was a guy that I worked with for
many years at Martin Marietta. After some searching, I finally tracked him
down and asked him about the Altair. Here's his reply:

>
>My EXwife 'disposed' of a fair amount of my equipment a few years back.

 (She didn't pay the payments on the storage locked so the stuff was
trashed. ed)

> The
>Altair was in perfect shape, worked, had all of the cards and was attached
>to a Hazeltine1500 CRT. It had a couple of 8 inch floppy drives and a CDC
>Hawk 5x5 hard disk drive that fit a 19E rack. If I remember correctly, the
>Altair was serial 28. It wasn't a kit but was a production (one of the
>first off the line) model.
>
>Interesting how things happen??? BTW, I still live in Orlando. The number
>you gave was my work phone number when I was still working for Lockheed up
>in Ocala. I commuted each day from Orlando...got old and just about wore my
>car out.
>
>Nice hearing from you after all this time.
>
>Richard
>


   Somehow a scrapper ended up with it. He evidently pulled the cards for
their scrap value. Then he sold the chassis at a hamfest. Another ex-Martin
employee bought it and years later I bought it from him. Does anyone have a
top case that they'll part with? My first Altair is nearly complete but I
still need the MITs floppy drive controller cards. Does anyone have a set
that they'll sell or trade? I have an original MITs floppy drive and
original MITs disks so I only need the controller cards to make it
operational.

    Joe
Received on Thu Apr 20 2000 - 18:35:04 BST