On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Bill Sudbrink wrote:
> I was under the impression (based on previous classiccmp discussions) that
> the only way to get the bare boards was to use the plans supplied in
> <whichever magazine it was> to etch your own. So how would you define
> original? Etched from the plans or etched from the plans within some
> short period of time from the publication date? Or maybe etched from the
> plans using materials produced at the time of publication? I have a couple
> of really old Radio Shack board etching kits around somewhere. I'm sure
> that I bought them before 1980. Could I turn them into gold by using them
> to etch a couple of Mark-8 boards? ;-) (smiley for the humor impared)
If the boards were etched within the timeframe of the original article,
say anywhere between July 1974 and July 1975 (to be generous) then I would
consider that "original". Also, if it was a completed machine that was
built in a similar timeframe, I would consider that original.
I would not consider boards that were recently fabricated and then put
together with other recently fabricated components to be "original" in the
context of the time that has passed from 1974 until now.
It's a tricky issue to be sure, but the fact is there is a major
difference between a kit that was produced at the time the article
originally appeared, perhaps by Jon Titus himself, and a kit assembled
from parts that were recently (i.e. nearly 30 years later) manufactured.
The materials and components that were available in 1974 are different
than those available today. The PCB is different, the etching process
(unless you have an old etching kit) is different, and the date codes will
be modern, unless you take the time to seek out chips from that era.
Even if you were to use an old etching kit, find chips with era
appropriate date codes (i.e. no later than 7526), and find all the other
components that would have been appropriate for that period (or were in
fact made in that period) you are still assembling a modern replica and
it should be amply noted as such if you are selling it.
To not mention it is unethical, and to go to lengths to hide it is
outright fraud.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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Received on Wed Mar 12 2003 - 11:13:01 GMT