FYI... If anyone is interested in the Altair 8800 CPU board that Sellam
seems to think
I took a hammer or a soldering iron to... It's for sale (I will pull the
Intel C8080 and
replace it with an extra like new Intel C8080A).
Don't know if the board works (neither did the guy I bought it from) but it
looks to be in
excellent original condition. The board is marked 8800 CPU BD REV 0.
It looks just like the one in the Altair 8800 currently on EBAY except that
it
has smaller tan colored caps instead of the larger green ones on the board
on EBAY.
Like I said I had planned on using it to restore an Altair 8800 back to
original
condition since many of them don't have the original boards in them.
If you are interested send me an email and make me an offer. I can send you
a pic of the board.
I'll think I'll stick to chip collecting:)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sellam Ismail" <foo_at_siconic.com>
To: <cctalk_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 3:50 AM
Subject: Re: Promoting Classic Computers [was Re: Chip with holes in it]
>
> Oh no, another rant from a pseudonym.
>
> On Fri, 15 Nov 2002, John Galt wrote:
>
> > I'm a chip collector and I would like to take a moment to defend my
hobby.
> >
> > 1. Most chip collectors are very particular about protecting their
chips.
> > We just don't
> > throw them in the bottom of a drawer like some "computer
enthusiasts".
>
> I don't know of any computer you can just "throw in the bottom of a
> drawer" (unless you're talking about a Sinclair ZX81 or some handheld).
> But even then, collectors don't throw their computers in the bottom of a
> drawer.
>
> > I could not
> > count the times that I've bought chips on EBAY auctions that were
> > displayed
> > loose in a coffee can from someone who had found them in grandpa's
> > shop.
> > Do you really think these chips are better off going in the trash
> > than into some
> > chip collectors collection?
>
> Yes, yes. We've heard your arguments before. But we aren't talking about
> loose chips in a tin can. We're talking about pillaging working boards
> for chips. If you're going to respond to a thread, at least respond
> within the context (no straw men here).
>
> > 2. Once a chip ends up in a chip collectors collection it's not gone
from
> > the face
> > of the earth. It's carefully preserved for future generations.
>
> Yes, thank you. But hopefully it didn't come out of a board that is now
> gone from the face of the Earth. For instance, what happened to that
> Altair CPU board you bought because you wanted the CPU?
>
> > 3. The argument that a chip is better off inside a vintage computer is
like
> > saying
> > a coin is better off in circulation serving its "intended" purpose
than
> > in some
> > collectors collection.
>
> If that's where the chip came from then yes, it is. By removing the chip
> from a computer it once powered or helped work, you are removing it from
> its historical context. From a hobbyists point of view, you are taking
> something that once worked, removing one part of it that will make it
> unfunctioning, and then relishing the one, now non-functioning, part over
> the whole in which it once ran.
>
> > 4. Many of the chips that chip collectors pay alot of money for are
"rare"
> > varieties
> > of "common" chips. For example, an Intel C8080 vs. C8080A.
Vintage
> > computer enthusiasts don't "need" an Intel C8080. In fact, you
would
> > probably
> > be better off with the more common and "improved" C8080A.
>
> Well, chip collectors don't really "need" an Intel C8080 either, when a
> C8080A will do quite nicely as a representative sample, right? Unless
> you have a cereal box prize mentality and must "collect all 8!"
>
> > 5. I think that alot of vintage computer enthusiasts think that chip
> > collectors are
> > out there busting up Altair 8800's with sledge hammers to get the
chips
> > out of
> > them. That's simply not true. Chip collectors hang out on in the
same
> > areas of EBAY that you do. We know full well what rare machines
are
> > worth.
> > I'll assure you, chip collectors are not breaking up old machines
for
> > chips.
>
> What happened to that Altair CPU board?
>
> > In fact, it's just the opposite. I know a number of vintage
machines
> > that have
> > been "saved" by chip collectors because they recognized what they
were.
>
> Examples? What happened to the chips?
>
> > If you really want a supply of vintage chips for your vintage
machines
> > in
> > 20-30 years then you should be glad that a C8008 brings $100 on
EBAY
> > because of chip collectors. The reason you should be glad is
because
> > as the
> > word gets out that the early chips are worth money, less of them
will
> > end up
> > in the trash.
>
> You're assuming some chip collector 20-30 years down the road will be
> willing to part with his rare C8008 that is now part of his amazing
> collection of dead silicon. Because in all likelihood that's what it will
> be anyway: dead.
>
> > that you guys have and not because of the chips in them either.
That
> > said,
> > we also recognize that the chips themselves have historic value and
> > should
> > be preserved.
>
> And we do too. We're the greatest chip collectors because we have whole
> computers full of them.
>
> > Many chip collectors would like to one day obtain a
> > working vintage machine but I know more than a few who have
abandoned
> > this idea once they figured out that many vintage computer
enthusiasts
> > have such a negative view of chip collectors.
>
> Bullshit. You keep making this silly remark. I believe this is your
> opinion and your opinion alone. You're not gaining any sympathy.
>
> > The same younger computer enthusiasts are the very people you need
to
> > keep your
> > hobby going but the sad thing is, many of the same people will try
and
> > entire
> > your world from the world of chip collecting and be totally turned
off
> > by your
> > attitudes toward chip collectors.
>
> Blah blah. Name one chip collector that has been turned off by the
> comments on this list. Now name all the chip collectors you steered away
> from this list because you feel we are biased against chip collectors.
>
> Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer
Festival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
> International Man of Intrigue and Danger
http://www.vintage.org
>
> * Old computing resources for business and academia at
www.VintageTech.com *
>
Received on Sat Nov 16 2002 - 11:52:08 GMT