Subject: PDP 8 for over $3000

From: "Keys" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed Jul 9 18:34:00 2003

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2738787795

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From: Vintage Computer Festival <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed Jul 9 19:08:00 2003

> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2738787795

That's a bargain!

-- 

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 *

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From: Roger Merchberger <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed Jul 9 19:25:00 2003

>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2738787795

Well, with a serial number of 0 --> yes, that's not a typo -- Zero --

wouldn't you pick it up if you had the cash & storage??? ;^>

Here's a link to the pic: http://gbweb.biz/PDP/serial.jpg

Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger

--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- sysadmin, Iceberg Computers
[email-masked]

What do you do when Life gives you lemons,
and you don't *like* lemonade?????????????

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From: Joe <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed Jul 9 19:26:35 2003

WOW! I think that's the first time that I've ever seen Al get outbid!

   Joe

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From: Tothwolf <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 10:49:01 2003

> WOW! I think that's the first time that I've ever seen Al get outbid!

At least the high bidder is also list member, so hopefully he can arrange
something to get the docs and software archived. I do have to wonder how
he is going to get the thing shipped to the UK...

-Toth

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From: William Donzelli <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 12:12:01 2003

> he is going to get the thing shipped to the UK...

Yes, we wouldn't want a PDP-8 to belong to one of those unclean non-list 
members. So dirty, so untouchable. We must keep our PDP-8s pure.

William Donzelli
[email-masked]

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From: Tothwolf <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 12:21:00 2003

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003, William Donzelli wrote:

> > At least the high bidder is also list member, so hopefully he can
> > arrange something to get the docs and software archived. I do have to
> > wonder how he is going to get the thing shipped to the UK...
>

Well, it sure beats it going into a "collection" in someone's dark
basement, never to be seen by mere mortals again ;P

-Toth

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From: "Fred N. van Kempen" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 13:36:00 2003

> basement, never to be seen by mere mortals again ;P

Worse... get bought by someone, only to strip it for needed parts,
nailing the front panel to their living room wall, and throw the
rest away *eeeek*

[seen that happen in person, soo..]

--f

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From: Kevin Handy <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 14:39:00 2003

Fred N. van Kempen wrote

>[seen that happen in person, soo..]
What someone needs to design, is a PDP-8 that fits entirely inside of
a front panel (modern re-creation, not an original one), fully functional
including switches, emulated disks, etc..  Nail that to your wall, with a
flat-panel VT emulator nailed next to it. Then wait for someone to ask
about it. Make up stories about embeding it into your wall so people
can't steal it, you could only afford this much of it, it got crushed, 
etc...

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From: [email-masked] (Christopher McNabb)
Date: Thu Jul 10 14:53:00 2003

> nailing the front panel to their living room wall, and throw the

Even worse is seeing a bunch guys at the shooting range blowing holes in
old hardware with various handheld weaponry.  Fortunately, the day I saw
this they were just old 386s, 486s, and the occaisional Mac.

I made sure to keep an eye on what they were putting down range so that
I could stop them if anything significant showed up.

-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Christopher L McNabb              Tel:   540 231 7554
Operating Systems Analyst         Email: [email-masked]
Virginia Tech                     ICBM:  37.205622N 80.414595W
GMRS: WPSR255                     ARS:   N2UX  Grid Sq: EM97SD

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From: "Fred N. van Kempen" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 15:07:00 2003

> this they were just old 386s, 486s, and the occaisional Mac.
THAT is easy to fix.  Grab your own, uhh, hand-held and aim at their
cars, yelling "hey guys, what range would this be, ya guess?"  :)

--f

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From: "TeoZ" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 15:31:01 2003

Aiming a weapon at somebodies SUV is a good way to get yourself shot.

I wouldnt shed a tear over an old PC or Mac (except for the ones with built
in screen since they are an environmental hazard) , its better then some
redneck shooting a stray dog or other poor animal.

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From: "Fred N. van Kempen" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 15:38:00 2003

> Aiming a weapon at somebodies SUV is a good way to get yourself shot.
Yup.. been there, dunnit (as I used to live in Miss. ... ;-)

> redneck shooting a stray dog or other poor animal.
Cant comment on that, just got done with the legal forces here
regarding shooting some pidgins off my roof.  No, dont try this
at home if you live in Holland.  You'll do time.  Been there, etc.

--f

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From: "John Allain" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 15:41:01 2003

> What someone needs to design, is a PDP-8 that fits entirely 
> inside of a front panel (modern re-creation, not an original one)

related:
Got an elSpammo saying that for $40 you can get an Atari 
(trademarked too) games machine, 'cept they fit the whole
CPU into the joystick controller.  Kinda authentic -and funny-
looking.     (  http://www.youcansave.com/atari.html  )

figured maybe 20% of the rest of the list didn't know this already <g>

John A.

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From: Ethan Dicks <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 15:44:00 2003

--- Kevin Handy <[email-masked]> wrote:
> a front panel (modern re-creation, not an original one)...

Patience.  One of the goals of the SBC-6120 project is a toggle-switch
front panel.  :-)  The CPU board is the size of a postcard.

> Nail that to your wall, with a flat-panel VT emulator nailed next to it.

I can do better... a real a flat-panel terminal (Planar ELT-320).  One of
the list members has his on a desk-extension arm.

-ethan

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From: Bryan Pope <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 15:49:00 2003

> figured maybe 20% of the rest of the list didn't know this already <g>

I already got mine quite awhile ago...  But it was around $20 from an 
Avon person at my work. :)

Some of the games shouldn't have been put in, since they originally used 
a paddle!!!!!

Cheers,

Bryan

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From: [email-masked] (Eric Dittman)
Date: Thu Jul 10 16:01:00 2003

> the list members has his on a desk-extension arm.

That's how I have my ELT320 mounted.
-- 
Eric Dittman
[email-masked]

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From: Bob Shannon <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu Jul 10 17:52:01 2003

Right, like my, not-seen-on-the-web collection!

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From: "Antonio Carlini" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri Jul 11 01:57:00 2003

Ethan Dicks wrote:

> Patience.  One of the goals of the SBC-6120 project is a 
> toggle-switch front panel.  :-)  The CPU board is the size of 
> a postcard.

And as if by magic Bob seems to have a proto ... 

http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/Hardware/SBC6120_Front_Panel.htm

Antonio
 
-- 

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Antonio Carlini             [email-masked]

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From: "ed sharpe" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun Jul 13 21:39:00 2003

Due to the fact of the  serial number, probably cheap at  even twice the
price.

earliest S/N I have seen on any  8 is the  s/n # 18 classic  8 we have at
the museum here.

we have an 8s but alas the  front bezel is really nasty... looking for a
replacement.. perhaps someone has one out there??

Thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC

Please check our web site at
 http://www.smecc.org
to see other engineering fields, communications and computation stuff we
buy, and by all means  when in Arizona drop in and see us.

address:

 coury house / smecc
5802 w palmaire ave
glendale az 85301

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From: "ed sharpe" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun Jul 13 21:40:47 2003

address:

 coury house / smecc
5802 w palmaire ave
glendale az 85301

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From: Tim Challenor <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed Jul 16 18:49:00 2003

Hi all - I'd just like to say to anyone that cares about this, that 
although the PDP8S will be in our collection, it will also at some 
point in the not too distant future have its docs and such s/w as we 
have at the time archived and accessible on the net. It is also 
possible (though we have not yet decided) that it gets shipped to the 
UK, where it could feature in a publicly accessible technology museum 
in Hampshire - though as I say, this is a way down the road.

As an engineer old enough to remember hand-assembling code in octal 
that had to be entered via the console switches. I loath the opacity 
that is increasingly (and 'deliberately') designed in to contemporary 
machines in the name of 'user friendliness'. I therefore want to do 
whatever I can, when I can to help those wishing to educate themselves 
further on the subject of machine architecture and history, with a view 
to promoting a clearer view of the fundamentals that I would wish to 
contribute to the growth of a more ethical, sustainable and efficient 
industry in the future.

My brother in law (Nick Steel) and I have committed ourselves to this 
hobby, being ideally placed in the US and the UK, to periodically 
exchange kit that we find in Europe and the US. We are always 
interested in purchasing (or assisting in the purchase) of rare (that's 
'rare' as opposed to 'ebay-rare'!) kit. Specifically, if discrete 
transistors, tubes and or mechanical logic are employed in the design, 
then we are potential purchasers/restorers of the item.

Best regards to all
[email-masked]

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From: Vintage Computer Festival <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun Jul 20 11:39:00 2003

> earliest S/N I have seen on any  8 is the  s/n # 18 classic  8 we have at

Mine is 130.

> replacement.. perhaps someone has one out there??

Perhaps you can contact the buyer of the 8s and ask if they can get a scan
of the front panel for you?  The "straight" 8 front panel is actually a
piece of glass.  I managed to get a real nice scan of it for a PDP-8
replica I built.

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