Back on June 9th of this year (Classic Tech Eletter #11), someone
thoughtfully posted the paragraph at the bottom of this message (on this
newsgroup). Coincidentally, I had already found the same S-100 computer and
I eventually ended up winning the bid (I was the only bidder). I only very
recently received this machine (it was slightly damaged in shipping, and it
_really_ was filthy! (There was an enormous delay in shipping it to me.)
I've got the damage straightened out and I completely disassembled it for
cleaning. I just got it back together last night and turned on the switch.
I seems to power up and the led's come on (led near the on/off switch and 3
led's on the backplane/motherboard).
I talked to one person who said that he thought that he'd had an ISC
computer before, but that it wasn't pure S-100. The reason that I bought
this machine is that I have some Seattle Computer Products S-100 cards that
I really want to get running. They drop in the ISC "S-100" computer
_perfectly_, but I have not powered it up with the SCP cards in place. If
there's something that's not "pure S-100" about the ISC, I don't want to
damage the SCP cards.
I just checked the link (below) and it still works. I think the link will
disappear in just a few more days (90 days), so I can provide the same
pictures to anyone interested after the link disappears. The reason it's
taken so long to ask this question is because it took over 2 months for me
to actually receive the unit (now the darned link is ready to vanish,
probably on Sept 10th).
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2029719366
I cannot find _any_ information about ISC Systems Corp., Spokane, WA. It's
an absolutely beautifully crafted unit and from the filthy condition that I
received it in--it appears to have been left running for, perhaps, _years_!
The seller claimed that he'd removed the existing cards to install in his
Altair, but if that's true, someone must have already substituted different
cards--in the pictures, you'll notice a bunch of twisted pair and other
small gauge wires: these all appear to hook up to what would seem to be
"non-standard" S-100 cards, through proprietary connectors. I cannot fathom
how the original ISC cards could have been of any use to anyone except a
user of this ISC system.
It appears that the "non-standard" wires go to things like: keyboard,
monitor, a network and LP 1 and LP 2 (LPT 1 & LPT 2??). There is yet
another connector that I've no clue as to what it might do.
_BUT_, _if_ the box itself conforms to the S-100 standard, and if I can use
the SCP cards, all the other wires don't matter, because they won't be
connected to anything. I've really taken a liking to this machine--I hope I
can use it!
Any help would be much appreciated!
Thank you,
Robert Greenstreet
gstreet_at_indy.net
>
>At 08:33 PM 6/9/02 -0400, you wrote:
>CLASSIC TECH ELETTER, Vol. 1, Issue 11
>
>It's too bad the seller gutted this ISC Systems S-100 computer. If it
>sells close to the opening bid, however, the buyer will get a good deal on
>an S-100 starter system. (The seller's right about the system needing a
>cleaning. You could knit a sweater with all the lint stuck in the fan
>vent.)
Received on Fri Sep 06 2002 - 13:39:01 BST