> How much do people think is too much restoration???
I try to get my machines running as they would have been in their prime.
This includes making the common upgrades that most users would have done.
Since I am restoring kits, there was wide variation in assemble quality. If
I have or can find the correct parts I am just finishing the assemble 25
years later. (I am talking about adding a capacitor or a minor cut and
jumper. Not increasing the memory by tacking RAM chips on top of the
original ones.)
I want the machine to work, even if I have to replace parts. I restored a
SWTPC TV Typewriter that had been very poorly assembled in the 1970s by
stripping the boards bare. (This is not the first choice procedure.) I was
able to find accurate replacements for almost all of the parts.
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/CT_1024/Restore/CT1024_Restore.htm
I also build new upgrade boards for SWTPC 6800 computers. Some of these use
current production parts and some use historical parts. These can added to a
system and removed without damage. (I sell copies of some of my upgrades but
I make them for my own use. Which is a good thing because I will never
recover my cost.)
http://home.attbi.com/~swtpc6800/new_stuff.htm
Sometimes a hand wired board is a accurate example of what the original
owners would have used.
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/QRC_Proto/32kMemoryIndex.htm
These upgrades allow the base level product to be upgraded to a full
featured version so you can run the vintage software.
Another area of restoration is documentation. I have been scanning
documents, converting them to text, then creating PDF files for the web. I
correct the typographical errors in the originals and add corrections. I
don't try to maintain the exact format or pagination. I do identify major
changes that I make.
I have been taken to task of not preserving the original documents with all
of the errors!
Michael Holley
www.swtpc.com/mholley
Received on Sat Jun 14 2003 - 22:18:00 BST