On Jun 28, 11:07, FBA wrote:
> How much time do you devote searching for old machines?
Very little, now. I used to, but I've run out of room (I hid a scanner and
an SGI monitor in my wife's wardrobe recently). Every so often, someone
says "I hear you collect..." and before you know it, there's another one.
They seem to come in little bursts, too -- nothing interesting for months,
then two or three in a week from different sources.
> How much time "Playing" (fixing, using etc...) these machines?
Not nearly enough :-)
A few months ago, I reached the state in the garage that there literally
was no room to get *to* almost anything, far less *into* it. Six weeks ago
was the point at which it all got moved out, and the conversion/extension
work began. By this weekend, I'll be putting in the new network cable and
starting painting in the new computer room. The walls have been lined and
plastered (makes the room smaller, but deals with the condensation issues),
new ceiling, it's all rewired (175 metres of cable in the power circuits
alone), purpose-built workbenches (still to be built, though), raised
computer floor, floor boxes for power and network, floor-to-ceiling shelves
in one corner to hold and run about 20 small machines and their
peripherals, space for two DEC racks and a couple of BA23's.
Of course, not everything that went out will fit back in, but most will,
and will be usable. Though it might be a while before I finish all the
benches and stuff, and then I better move the scanner and monitor before I
do much else, or The Boss might renege on her promise to pay for half of
it!
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Dept. of Computer Science
University of York
Received on Wed Jun 28 2000 - 15:57:45 BST