With regards to collecting, if I find it interesting, I collect it.
That applies to computers, electronic equipment, or anything else.
Hence, I don't bother trying to have a "complete" collection. With
regards to computers, I just collect equipment that I like and would
enjoy playing with - if that should somehow result in a complete
collection of something, so be it, but it won't be on purpose. :-)
At this time, I'm not looking for any complete systems except perhaps
a small DG MV-x,000 (e.g. a little tiny suitcase sized MV-2000 system)
system running AOS/VS, which was the first minicomputer system I was
ever paid to work with. Alas, I don't have room for an Eclipse
MV-10,000 like I once worked with, or a cabinet for tape and disk
drives, and a printing Dasher console.
That said... I really would like a VAX 11/780 system, a complete IBM
3090 system, an HP-3000 series III and a PDP-11/45 along with many
other systems. However, I've no space for them. :-( A large abandoned
shopping mall in a rural area would be an ideal house to keep them in,
which could be divided into areas called DEC County, IBM City, HPtown,
PERQsburg, Sunville, etc. This would also be a perfect place to
install a few pairs of old Altec Lansing Voice of the Theatre speaker
systems and some custom cabinets with Electro Voice 30W speakers (30"
diameter woofers) in them, and there would still be space left over
for a sizeable library, space to store cars and car parts, space for a
greenhouse, electronics lab, swimming pool, indoor pond, barn with
stables and an indoor arena, plenty of fruit trees, and all under one
roof.
More realistically, I'm mostly looking for spare and needed parts at
this time. At the top of my list are parts like Shugart SA-4008 or
SA-4004 hard drives for my PERQ-1A computers, assorted Q-bus, Omnibus
and Unibus boards for VAXen, PDP-11s and a PDP-8/e, as well as
possibly any boards, drives, etc. for my HP-1000/E.
Like others on this list, I'm trying to figure out what spare bits to
get rid of:
Many Sun-3 VME-bus boards are available for US$20/each (someone else
set the price, not me; I'm just keeping them until (if?) they can be
sold, and am not profiting from their sale) - you name the board, I
might have it, and I'll even consider letting you have any attached
spiders and webbing for free! That's right, absolutely free. :-)
Condition: you must agree to take care of, and not scrap, these boards
if you buy them; that's what I promised the seller who wants them to
go to good homes. I really would like to have the space that these
100-plus boards are taking up.
Other things to trade for the right trade:
- three IBM mini monitors and banking system controller device
- an NEC minicomputer and some sort of huge disk controller box
- assorted terminal servers that appear not to not work, or need
software
- possibly an Apollo DN3500 and 19" monitor (if I can bring myself to
part with these, but I could use the space)
- a 25" CRT from an old Zenith color TV. I found it on a chassis that
someone threw away, which I stripped the rest of the parts off of
about 20 years ago - never know when one of these might be useful,
right? :-)
- possibly a spare Kaypro-IV
- possibly a spare PDP-11/03 chasis
- a MicroVAX-I CPU board set
- DEC Voice board set with DECvoice to T1 board and bulkhead connector
(this may be going to someone else soon)
- assorted chassis parts (e.g. plastic sides, etc.) for old Sun
Sparc/Sun-3 systems.
- Possibly some other things such as a third-party manufactured
expansion chasis for Q-bus boards... holds many boards!
- spare PERQ T2 chasis with no boards in it; this, however, I'm not at
all likely to part with, even though it's taking up a fair amount of
space in it's custom Anvil-like travel case on wheels.
- Also for trade: a Kenwood KR-7070 receiver in need of repair... not
sure what's wrong with it yet - bought it at a ham fest but never got
'round to checking out out; numbers on face of tuner dial are not in
good shape; the plastic appears to be flaking off.
--
Copyright (C) 2001 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals:
All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature &
rdd_at_rddavis.org 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such
http://www.rddavis.org beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.
Received on Fri Feb 08 2002 - 21:21:37 GMT