On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:23:31 -0600
Jim Leonard <trixter_at_oldskool.org> wrote:
> William Layer wrote:
> > I had a brief affair with the Toshiba T1000 machines;
> This sounds like a perfect machine to do some oldskool DOS 8088 programming on
> while on trips... Do the batteries in these kinds of things still work and/or
> can be reconditioned? If not, are there any portable small 8088/8086 laptops
> (other than the HP palmtops, which still command a premium for some reason)
> that use conventional batteries?
The battery for the T1000 machines is a simple little pack, built from four (4) C-cell NiCads.. should be pretty easy to rebuild it. "Batteries Plus" quoted me $39 to make one, which is pretty fair, but a DIY-er could do it much cheaper than that. I've also seen one of these machines with an externally mounted 6v gel-cell battery; it was used at an Amateur Radio Field Day event.
IIRC, they ran for about 8 hrs on a charge; modern cells may perform better than this.
As for other machines of this ilk, look at:
- The original Zenith supersPORT, another very bulletproof 8088 (or is it 8086..) machine with a decent display, full-size keyboard, dual 720K floppies, and full 'legacy' ports. Built like a freaking TANK. Battery is a large module that clips on to the rear of the machine; I've never had it apart, but from the size & weight, I think that I contains several D-cell NiCads.
- The original NEC UltraLite, a *very* thin & light machine, about the size of the smaller Sony VAIO laptops, but lighter. Uses the NEC V20 (or is it V30) 8086 work-alike CPU. Has a hard-ram setup like the T1000, good display, decent keyboard, and full 'legacy' ports. Unfortunately, the battery for this one is an oddball 'Molicell' pack, and I don't know of a cheapo replacement. The original batteries were all recalled due to an 'IT'S ON $_at_&%!-ing FIRE!!!' issue.
If anyone is interested, I have two of the T1000 machines for sale/swap. One works, but the display contrast becomes unreliable after the machine warms up; I think it may be the contrast control itself, or a bad component in the display power supply. The second machine is for parts. There is at least one power supply and an owner's manual as well.
If interested, contact me off-list.
Cheers,
--
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-. William W. Layer .- -. St. Paul, MN USA .-
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-. Cheif bottlewasher, Atma-Sphere Music Systems .-
-. http://www.atma-sphere.com .-
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Received on Thu Feb 17 2005 - 18:00:36 GMT