What's the rarest thing you have/had? How much is it worth?

[agrajag]

Hi all.

After seeing that Ultima game (Vic 20) on ebay sell for over US$3,000 I was wondering how many people out there have something rare/worth a lot?

Obviously it doesn't have to be this pricey...

The picked up a C64 setup from someone locally for around us$80 and it came with a HOWZAT CRICKET cartridge game which I sold on ebay for us$70. The guy that bought it already had the cart, he was only after the 2 page instruction booklet that came with it.

I know this isn't an over the top story but it surprised me.

So :
1) What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot?
2) Where did you get it from
3) How much did it cost you.
4) What item would you love to add to your collection.

Myself question 4)
I'd like to add
Texas Instrument 99/4a computer
Sega Spectravideo computer
Memotech 512 Computer
Apple Computer
Commodore 65 (Mmmm Unlikely)

Ok...Love to hear from all of ya's!

[Terry Yager]

I think the biggest profit I ever made from a computer/part was when I sold my Exidy Sorcerer on eBay for $320.00. Not bad for a piece I picked up at the Salvation Army for around $5.00. Speaking of TI99/4As, I had amassed quote a collection of TI99 carts (88 of 'em IIRC). I sold the first 10 on eBay for $150.00, then the remaining carts for another $100.00. I paid anywhere between $0.10 and 0.99 apiece for those carts. I'm sure I've made other good sales, but those are the ones that come to mind.

As for my "wish list" I think I already posted it elsewhere on this board.

--T

[CP/M User]

"agrajag" wrote:

> So :
> 1) What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot?
> 2) Where did you get it from
> 3) How much did it cost you.
> 4) What item would you love to add to your collection.

1,2,3) I don't know if 3" disks for an Amstrad qualifys. I
brought them overseas (UK) & it still worked out
cheaper buying a box of 10 & mailing them back here,
than buying 3" disks here locally! (Sorry lads - but $10
a disk is just a joke - rather than £15 for 10!).

What would have to be the rarest piece of hardware I
managed to get (while working), was some Memory
(4MB) for my Sanyo 16NB6 386 computer. It was so
rare, I couldn't find any places here in Australia to get
it. I found some at a US based company which had a
website (2Mb modules it came as). I brought 2 (which
is all this machine has), unfortunately I can't remember
how much it was the total price, it costed me some $300
Aussies to get it here. Post & Handling was the main
killer (I guess it had to be in the same condition before
it was sent!).

4) As for this one, the answer's a simple one for me,
whatever I can afford & don't mind collecting. Mind you,
when I was buying expensive computer memory, I was
working! ;-)

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[Terry Yager]

The rarest thing I own is in fact, (paradoxically) of little or no value, simply because it is so rare. There just isn't any demand for it, therefore, no value. It is a one-of-a-kind homebrew S-100 system, (4-slot motherboard, linear power supply) neatly built into a standard Kennedy toolbox, (the world's first portable computer?) around 1977. The CPU board is an unknown brand, built from a kit (Altair clone, 8080). It is priceless to me, (I'd never think of selling it) but of hardly any value to anyone else (unless I find the right museum).

--T

[CP/M User]

"Terry Yager" wrote:

> The rarest thing I own is in fact, (paradoxically)
> of little or no value, simply because it is so rare.
> There just isn't any demand for it, therefore, no
> value. It is a one-of-a-kind homebrew S-100
> system, (4-slot motherboard, linear power
> supply) neatly built into a standard Kennedy
> toolbox, (the world's first portable computer?)
> around 1977. The CPU board is an unknown
> brand, built from a kit (Altair clone, 8080). It is
> priceless to me, (I'd never think of selling it)
> but of hardly any value to anyone else (unless I
> find the right museum).

Does it run CP/M? If it does, then it could be of
some use to someone very quickly.

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[Terry Yager]

Does it run CP/M? If it does, then it could be of
some use to someone very quickly.

Cheers,
CP/M User.

Actually, it's never ran at all, in it's original configuration. It isn't a complete system yet. I did "cheat" once and replaced the boards with those of a known working system, and it booted up, so I know the P.S. & motherboard are in working order. Right now it consists of a case, P.S., mobo, a 8080 CPU board and a 4K memory board. Can't do much without proper I/O. It's only a 4-slot mobo, so I have to try to find some multi-function (floppy controller, serial port) boards that don't require a Z-80 to run. I've got a couple of extra 64K memory boards, but have never taken the time to get them working together with the CPU. I also have a couple of floppy controllers, but the software (& firmware) for them contains Z-80 specific code, so it's no-go with the 8080. I'm always on the look-out for the parts I need for it, tho...mebbe someday...

--T

[CP/M User]

"Terry Yager" wrote:

>> Does it run CP/M? If it does, then it could be of
>> some use to someone very quickly.

> Actually, it's never ran at all, in it's original
> configuration. It isn't a complete system yet.
> I did "cheat" once and replaced the boards
> with those of a known working system, and it
> booted up, so I know the P.S. & motherboard
> are in working order. Right now it consists of
> a case, P.S., mobo, a 8080 CPU board and a
> 4K memory board. Can't do much without
> proper I/O. It's only a 4-slot mobo, so I have
> to try to find some multi-function (floppy
> controller, serial port) boards that don't
> require a Z-80 to run. I've got a couple of
> extra 64K memory boards, but have never
> taken the time to get them working together
> with the CPU. I also have a couple of floppy
> controllers, but the software (& firmware) for
> them contains Z-80 specific code, so it's no-go
> with the 8080. I'm always on the look-out for
> the parts I need for it, tho...mebbe someday...

You should check Google Groups & in the
comp.os.cpm group there was a discussion a
while back about undocumented upcodes for the
8080. Maybe the Z80 specific code could be
replaced with 8080 equivalent. Course a Z80
would have more instructions available to it, but
it maybe of interest, there might even be more
undocumented code than what people know
about for the 8080 processor.

If that fails, then it would be up to you to write
some functions (in 8080) which carry out
operations simular to an Z80 instruction, if all
else fails! :-)

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[Unknown_K]

I dont collect many rare items, but I think only 20,000 Timex 2068 computers were made (relatively rare for a commercial computer)

[Thomas Hillebrandt]

So :
1) What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot?
2) Where did you get it from
3) How much did it cost you.
4) What item would you love to add to your collection.

Hum...Well, I do have some Danish computers that I suppose are rare-ish, seen from an international point of view. Piccolo, Piccoline and James aren't seen much outside this little country. Apart from that, they're not particularly valuable, since they're just bog-standard CP/M-machines (sorry CP/M-USER :wink: )...

Rare, rare...I guess the SuperBoard II / USI model 600, 1978 model B is scarce enough to be called rare (WOW L@@K)...

Valuable? Some are willing to pay generously for the Amstrad CPC664, which I got for free :lol: ...

I suppose the Casio FP-1000 machines are few and far between outside Asia as well... 8)

Most of the machines in my collection (counting 149 by last count) I have gotten free or cheap. The most expensive single computer I ever bought was my Amiga 1200, but that was because I bought it when it was new, back in 1992... Other than that, it's probably my Mac Classic, which I bought for DKR. 200,- (roughly $25), which is more than I would've paid for one today...

4)......Oh, don't make me choose...C65's ARE obtainable, which is more than can be said of the V364 (singular, not plural :roll: )...I'd love an Exidy, Microbee or Apple I; a MicroVAX II, IBM PCjr or Macintosh (the original); a Osborne I, C116 or Amiga 4000T (Commodore-model). Or even just a Jupiter Ace... :shock:

[Terry Yager]

Most of the machines in my collection (counting 149 by last count) I have gotten free or cheap.

AHH, a man after my own heart. (I'm a cheapskate). My C.C.S. S-100 system cost me a whopping $35, but I always felt like I overpaid. (I bought it from the USPS, at a "sealed-bid" auction, but after the auction ended, they informed me that mine was the only bid they'd had on it. I could have got it for a dollar).

--T

[agrajag]

Hey Thomas.

I just checked up on the Commodore V364, I see what you mean..looks like theres only 2 in existance. Imagine owning one and knowing that no-one in the world has a more complete commodore collection than yourself.

You have a huge collection.....147?

I guess a Commodore 65 will turn up on ebay one day :roll: ....I noticed that there were a couple of motherboards on there but the seller is a well known Commodore fraudster apparently.

Regards,
Agrajag

[Thomas Hillebrandt]

I just checked up on the Commodore V364, I see what you mean..looks like theres only 2 in existance.

3, actually. Two "sloppy" versions, with a spraypainted casing (one of which is owned by Commodore super-collector Bo Zimmerman @ zimmers.net/commie/), and one in a true production style case. The latter was up on eBay some time last year. Starting price $7000, IIRC :shock: :shock: :shock: ...

I guess a Commodore 65 will turn up on ebay one day :roll: ....I noticed that there were a couple of motherboards on there but the seller is a well known Commodore fraudster apparently.

I missed one on QXL some time back, but I just didn't have the $1000 that was the starting-price... :roll: :cry:

[CP/M User]

"Thomas Hillebrandt" wrote:

> Hum...Well, I do have some Danish computers
> that I suppose are rare-ish, seen from an
> international point of view. Piccolo, Piccoline
> and James aren't seen much outside this little
> country. Apart from that, they're not
> particularly valuable, since they're just
> bog-standard CP/M-machines (sorry
> CP/M-USER ;-)...

Bog-standard? Sounds like some impossible
graphical demos need to be written in this
case!

> Valuable? Some are willing to pay
> generously for the Amstrad CPC664,
> which I got for free LOL ...

Well it is rarer than the CPC464 &
CPC6128.

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[Rick Ethridge]

My rarest computer is a specially modified stock green screen TRS-80 Model 4 with the updated "T" curser keys and external drive case with two slimline DSDD five and a quarter inch floppy drives. Almost as rare is an external 300 bps modem for a Model 1. RLE

[curtis]

1) What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot?

Guess the rarest item I have is a Engineering sample of the TI CC-40+.

Second rarest is the Zenith ZP-150 that I picked up on ebay for $30.00. It's not worth a whole lot for some reason. Probably because it says Zenith on it!

2) Where did you get it from

Believe it or not, I picked it up at a garage sale in Lubbock, TX from a fellow who used to work at the TI plant there.

3) How much did it cost you.

$5.00. I tried to give the fellow more for it, but he said he just wanted to get rid of it!

4) What item would you love to add to your collection.

One each of the Red and the Silver NEC PC-8201. Need I say more? I'd almost be willing to give body parts for one of each!

Curtis

[Terry Yager]

1) What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot?

Guess the rarest item I have is a Engineering sample of the TI CC-40+.


Curtis

What are the differences between that and the regular CC-40? Was the + ever produced?

--T

[vic user]

Hi Rick;

would you happen to have any model 4 system disks that are currently free to distribute? 8)

[hwhall]

I guess the rarest things I have are my MITS ALtair 680b, a dual Percom floppy drive system, and a really old Hazeltine 1200 dumb terminal. Not really all that rare or useful. <g>
--Wayne

[Nick Miller]

I am fortunate to have several rare computers in my collection. My rarest is the Atari 1400XL. My IBM 5110 "Portable Computer", CyberVision 2001, OSI Challenger 1P, Jupiter Ace 4000 and my various S-100 bus systems are also somewhat rare.

Nick

[curtis]

The + was intended to replace the 40. The primary difference was the addition of a casette port so you could save programs. Rather handy since the Wafertape wasn't produced.

There are also a couple of minor cosmetic differences, but the casette port was the major one.

It wasn't produced in quantities. I've seen one regular production model and this engineering sample. The 40 was canceled the same time the 99/4A was.

It was replaced a little later with the TI-74 BASICalc and TI-95 ProCalc. Both use what's called a dockbus, but the only difference between it and the hexbus of the CC-40 was the arrangement and the addition of VCC and frame ground lines.

If I ever get a little time, I'm going to take some pics and post them on my web page @ htp://members.cox.net/curtismc

Curtis


What are the differences between that and the regular CC-40? Was the + ever produced?

--T

[Terry Yager]

It wasn't produced in quantities. I've seen one regular production model and this engineering sample. The 40 was canceled the same time the 99/4A was.

Curtis

Kewl! I used to have a Zenith '386/25 laptop that was an in-house prototype. I don't know what model it was because it had no identifying markings on the outside. On the inside was a rubber-stamp on the mainboard saying "Factory Prototype" and a number. The ROM version in it was 0.093. (When Zenith went, there was a lot of that kinda stuff kicking around Michigan). Unfortunately, I had to sell it ($200.00) in order to make another sweet deal. The local computer recycler's had this big ol' box fulla dis-assembled '486 laptops that he wanted $500.00 for. I had to sell my Zenith real quick to come up with the 500. Turned out ok, I managed to put together 5 laptops, and plenty of spare parts. They were AT&T Globalyst '486/50s, and I sold 4 of 'em for $300.00 apiece and kept the best one for myself. Such are the sacrifices I have to make sometimes. (I've always made my hobby pay for it's self).

--T

[Erik]

The rarest thing I own is a 1972 Corvette - LT-1 Coupe with Air Conditioning. GM only made 240 such cars. . . :D

http://www.vintage-computer.com/images/corvette/sig.jpg

As far as computers go, I'd say one of my Altairs is probably the rarest although I'm sure I have some bits and pieces that would be considered rarer still such as the earliest newsletters from the SCCS - pre-dating Interface Magazine and my library bound first volume of Byte.

I wouldn't begin to guess at the value of some of this stuff but I'd bet that I could get $2,500 or so for either of my Altair 8800s with docs, etc.

Erik

[kjs3]

Rarest I've got is a Heurikon VME/532 development system (NS32532 VMEbus system running National Semi GENIX). I only know of one person in to world that even has the VME/532 processor card, and noone with the full system, although there are undoubtedly a few hundred out there.

[dongfeng]

The rarest thing I own is a 1972 Corvette - LT-1 Coupe with Air Conditioning. GM only made 240 such cars. . . :D

http://www.vintage-computer.com/images/corvette/sig.jpg

Excellent!! *drool* :D Although with slightly less performance ;), I'm currently rebuilding a January 1962 Austin Mini, and my everyday car is a 1966 Volkswagen 1300 (Beetle) 8)

[CP/M User]

"dongfeng" wrote:

> Excellent!! *drool* :D Although with
> slightly less performance ;), I'm
> currently rebuilding a January 1962
> Austin Mini, and my everyday car is
> a 1966 Volkswagen 1300 (Beetle) 8)

What about an Astin Martin? Would you
drool over one of those?, or perhaps
cruse around particular routes featured
in certain films.

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[dongfeng]

What about an Astin Martin? Would you
drool over one of those?, or perhaps
cruse around particular routes featured
in certain films.

Cheers,
CP/M User.

I certainly wouldn't say no to one! However, it is slightly out of my price range, and insurance would be a killer at 22 :shock:

One day, one day... 8)

[Thomas Hillebrandt]

Sorry for straying back on topic here :lol: :wink: (well, sort of anyway)...

I just picked up a nice little rarity this easter: a Commodore PC20-III...

...Well, okay...The PC itself is not very rare...In fact, it's not rare at all! It IS rare, however, to find one with the warranty seal still intact...This baby's never been opened! Works too! 8)

[CP/M User]

"dongfeng" wrote:

>> What about an Astin Martin? Would you
>> drool over one of those?, or perhaps
>> cruse around particular routes featured
>> in certain films.

> I certainly wouldn't say no to one!
> However, it is slightly out of my price
> range, and insurance would be a killer
> at 22 "shock"

> One day, one day... 8)

Oh well, just tell the insurance that you're
only getting older! ;-)

It's a pity, you'll need to save long & hard
for one of those cars. I've also heard that
they are hand built, so they don't make a
lot of them in any model! :-(

But I think you're in the right sort of
country to buy one, to get one for myself
would mean shipping it to Australia! :-(

CP/M User.

[Rick Ethridge]

Hi Rick;

would you happen to have any model 4 system disks that are currently free to distribute? 8)

I have a number of Model 4 disks in my possession. The disks are released to the public domain by all concerned. This includes LSDOS 6.3.1 (Year 2000 capable), MultiiDOS, and LSDOS 5.3.1 (Model III mode).

[azog]

I don't have much equipment anymore. About five years ago, I went thru a panic cleanup stage, and ended up getting rid of pretty much everything. All I have right now is a VAX 3100 I just recently picked up off e-bay.

But of the stuff I once had, and now semi-regret getting rid of:

A CBM PET 2001 with full-sized keyboard, and an 8050 disk drive.

A PDP-11/34A, which is different than an 11/34, as it has/had a full octal keypad. I think the 11/34 was a slimmer chassis, and just had RUN/STOP dial. This came with (Pertek?) RK05 drives. A PDP-11/73, complete with skins. It booted straight into RT-11 the very first time I aquired it. Many VAXen, mostly a couple of 11/730's.

And even tho it's not "vintage" in the traditional sense of the word, an Atari Falcon030 and a TT030. These were the last of the ST lines Atari made before Atari Computer disappeared, around 1993.

I've had other stuff, but these are the things which come to mind.

[Nightengale]

Hi I have some things that I love:)

Three NeXT cube cases
A working NeXTStation Color Turbo
OS 4.2 User and Developer
NS 3.3 User and Developer
Rhapsody for Intel DR (ah i dont remember which release version)
TI CC-40
TI-99/4A, PEB, Two Disk Drives, for Tunnels of Doom :):)
Shrink-wrapped never opened 5 1/4" Microsoft Office full package

I did sell a NeXT Dimension (NTSC) Double-headed monster on Ebay for $1500 a couple of years ago, with NeXT CD Rom drive and some ancient NS .9 and 1.0 disks, NeXT World mags, and some brochures-that was fun:) I just took a some pictures of the 21" Monitor playing Star Wars Episode One :).


Cheers,
Don

[mbbrutman]

A few weird things come to mind, but nothing that I would call rare:

- An IBM PC 5150 with Oct 1981 BIOS. This is the second revision of the BIOS, making it a very old machine. These machines do not look for ROM extensions on cards, so it can't boot a hard drive, use an EGA card, etc., and it only counts up to 544K of memory.

- An IBM PC AT 5170 with a still working CMI hard drive. CMI (Core Memories) went out of business after they shipped IBM a big batch of bad drives for their new flagship machine, the IBM PC AT. Very few of the CMI drives made it past the infant mortality stage.

- A SCSI adapter for a PCjr that goes on as a sidecar. PC Enterprises designed and sold these cards, which are based on a Future Domain chipset. Very high performance for a machine that was eight years obsolete when the card was being sold.

- A memory adapter for the PCjr that can add 1MB of expanded memory to a Jr. Once again, it was a commercial product but not many were sold.


I like the one-off home brew types of hardware too. You know those were built with love and care, and you may have one of a very few surviving examples of it.


Mike

[Terry Yager]

I like the one-off home brew types of hardware too. You know those were built with love and care, and you may have one of a very few surviving examples of it.


Mike

Did you catch the pix I posted in the S-100 forum (Toolbox With A Cord)? I've never run across a collector who specializes in homebrews, but I'm sure there're some out there somewhere.

--T

[mbbrutman]

Yep - the Kennedy box ...

Is it a tool box, or a lunch box? (Bad pun - remember portables used to be called lunch boxes?)

I haven't forgotten about the 80287s your holding, or the CDs I owe you as part of the trade .. Just got *really* busy at work the last month. I'm finally crawling out now.

[carlsson]

Does a lunch box and a shoe box have the same form factor? There also is the pizza box, whose contents I assume also can be called lunch. I guess the PDAs and other devices of today should be called snack bars as compared to the old lunch boxes.

[Terry Yager]

I've also heard the Slot 1 processor referred to as a Hershey Bar. Is it more edible than other types of chips?

--T

[Codeware]

I've got an Apple QuickTake-100, the first digital capturing technology from Apple (built with Kodak).

No pictures . . .

I like to think my Atari Portfolio "palmbook" is rare, and perhaps it is. Call it "the computer Eddie Furlong uses, in T2, to crack ATMs."

Here it is atop my Apple IIe:

http://homepage.mac.com/citizensane/myApple2.jpg

[Codeware]

My collection, thus far, includes:

Apple IIe (amazing condition; two 5.25" Woz drives, "Printerface" card/cable, 15+ blank ATHANA diskettes. Bought the game "Amnesia," by Electronic Arts, but it gave me a DISK ERROR 39. Fully functional otherwise).

Mac 128k (display condition; everything original, includes alphanumeric keypad, external 400k floppy drive, and ImageWriter I -- that's right, ONE. Also came with very fine condition "Maccessories," including beige swivel-base and back-side velcroed surge suppressor; fully functional).

Mac 512k "E" (excellent condition; 800k external floppy drive, Mac Plus keyboard. Fully functional).

Mac Plus (not yet acquired).

Mac SE (base, pre-SE/30 model. Standard keyboard, rare "1984 era" Kensington turbo-mouse. Fully functional).

Mac SE/30 (not yet acquired).

Macintosh Performa 6205CD (great condition; loaded. non-Apple modem & speakers. Fully functional).

Macintosh Performa 6400/200 (great condition; GlobalVillage modem. Fully functional).

Apple "QuickTake" 100 digital camera (got this from an "insider" at Apple, beautiful machine).

Apple "Adjustable" Keyboard, c. 1992 (beautiful, functional).

NOT QUITE APPLE:

NeXT Cube (68080) (excellent condition; includes NeXT keyboard and accessories, fully functional).

NeXTstation ("pizza box" or "inspiration for Mac LC" version - great condition; fully functional).

Atari Portfolio "palmbook" (1989 "grand daddy" of PDA's, beautiful, functional. Includes extremely rare Atari data disks and parallel interface).



[edit: I would very much like a BeBox, but haven't seen them for sale anywhere.]

[Terry Yager]

I dunno if the Atari Portfolio is rare, but they sure are popular. Every time I bid on one on eBay, the price quickly shoots up out of my price range.

--T

[Codeware]

True, I don't think it's "rare" -- necessarily.

I want the computers they threw together to make Ron Cobb's "Nostromo Interior" designs in ALIEN (1979). There's that one keyboard, in the "Mother Console," it's got completely useless characters on every key, in red and green. Lovely.

Oh, P.S. -- I might be selling my collection soon. You want the Portfolio? What would be a competitve price? I think I got it for 25.

[edit: is your forum name in any way an allusion to Larry Yeager, researcher of neural networks and hypercube computing?]

[Terry Yager]

True, I don't think it's "rare" -- necessarily.

I want the computers they threw together to make Ron Cobb's "Nostromo Interior" designs in ALIEN (1979). There's that one keyboard, in the "Mother Console," it's got completely useless characters on every key, in red and green. Lovely.

Heh, speaking of movie computers, I almost bought a T-shirt the other day, which (wrongly) identified David Lightman's computer as a TRS-80 Model I. Have you seen those? They come up every once in a while on eBay.

Oh, P.S. -- I might be selling my collection soon. You want the Portfolio? What would be a competitve price? I think I got it for 25.

Well, if you could sell it for that, you have a buyer. ($25-30 is about my limit).

[edit: is your forum name in any way an allusion to Larry Yeager, researcher of neural networks and hypercube computing?]
That's funny, you're the first who has asked me that. Usually I hear "Are you related to Chuck Yeager, the fastest man alive?" Actually, I've never heard of Larry Yeager, but I'll certainly google him up here directly.

--T

[CP/M User]

"Terry Yager" wrote:

> I dunno if the Atari Portfolio is rare, but they sure are
> popular. Every time I bid on one on eBay, the price
> quickly shoots up out of my price range.

IMO machines like is can't be rare, cause they even sold
them here & I could of even got one, if it wasn't for
typewriter head! ;-)

Out of a magazine which were reviewing these tiny
machines, this would be the one which comes to mind all
the time, the others, well I'd say would be rarer! ;-)

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[CP/M User]

"Terry Yager" wrote:

> Heh, speaking of movie computers, I almost bought a
> T-shirt the other day, which (wrongly) identified David
> Lightman's computer as a TRS-80 Model I. Have you
> seen those? They come up every once in a while on
> eBay.

That's the one which looks like a Model II, isn't it?

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[Codeware]

Terry,

This should be the first thing that comes up:

http://homepage.mac.com/larryy/larryy/

His "homepage."

My personal favorite is "Terminator 2's technology" -- which is another obsession of mine.

Antiquated hardware extends beyond computers . . . I also collect laser (http://homepage.mac.com/citizensane/lasertile.jpg) discs (http://homepage.mac.com/citizensane/laserdisc.jpg).

[CP/M User]

"Codeware" wrote:

> My personal favorite is "Terminator 2's technology" --
> which is another obsession of mine.

Geez, that's all Terminator 2 is all about that darn Atari! ;-)

Nobody cares about the IBM (386 or 486 perhaps) which
gets shot to pieces! ;-)

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[Terry Yager]

Hmmmn, Firesign Theater, eh? (I thought I was the only fan they have left).

--T

[CP/M User]

"Terry Yager" wrote:

> Hmmmn, Firesign Theater, eh? (I thought I was the
> only fan they have left).

To a point I am. Depends on the movie, modern movies
to me are worse, I can put up with T2.

Cheers,
CP/M User.

[dcfree]

I have in my collection of over 700 computers a Scelbi-8H complete with documentation. This is reportedly one of only 200 shipped. Scelbi was the first advertised PC in the PC marketplace.

[Terry Yager]

Very nice! Nice webpage too.

--T

[Super-Slasher]

A Tyan Tiger II demo motherboard (P54C, Socket 7), of only which 200-300 were made, as told to me from an e-mail from a Tyan marketing executive when I asked for a manual or info about a board which I couldn't find any info for on the Internet.

Unfortunately, it had a damaged IDE controller on it, so I ended up throwing it out. However when I was using it when it was working, I found it was quite fast for a Pentium 150 system. I've used a P150 in other mobos, yet they were as never as fast as that Tyan, and I can't figure out why.

[Unknown_K]

A Tyan Tiger II demo motherboard (P54C, Socket 7), of only which 200-300 were made, as told to me from an e-mail from a Tyan marketing executive when I asked for a manual or info about a board which I couldn't find any info for on the Internet.

Unfortunately, it had a damaged IDE controller on it, so I ended up throwing it out. However when I was using it when it was working, I found it was quite fast for a Pentium 150 system. I've used a P150 in other mobos, yet they were as never as fast as that Tyan, and I can't figure out why.

Maybe faster cache or more of it

[CaptainCommodore]

Hey,
Its been a while since I've been here cause of my school work, but I'm back!

Anywho, the rarest thing I ever had was a copy of ZORK I for the TRS 80... it sells for around 500 bucks on eBay now, because it was a ziplock bagger game in the early 80's, and well, its pretty hard to find. Its SO hard to find that even I can't find it. It might of been lost when my parents moved. They did scrap the TRS-80 when the tube died in the early '90s, but they didn't throw away the software. DON'T ask me why. But my dad swears he had it and played it, and beat it... well, of course he beat it. BTW, does anyone else play Zork out there?

[dcfree]

I am not sure how many there are out there but I have a Scelbi-8H with all docs and manuals. I understand only 200 were made in 1973-74 then the head designer died of a heart attack in teh late 70's. Some call the Scelbi-8H the first advertised PC computer. Uses Intel 8008 cpu. Anyone care to guess what this baby is worth???????
For more info see my site at www.thepcmuseum.net.
Dave Freeman

[Apple2Guy]

The rarest peice of computer equipment I own is my Transwarp GS card it is probably worth about $250-$300 dollars right now.

What I really want is a HighSpeed SCSI card for my Apple IIGS, preferably a Ramfast SCSI card...

[Allison]

I'm not sure of the value of these but I have them:

NEC round lid 8080 (non A) cpu.

Early white ceramic 8080 marked ES.

Altair 8800 (non A) sn200 I bought in 1974 and assembled in jan 75.

NS*horizon 1978 built by me.

H11 backplane, CPU, memory and serial cards

LSI-11 core (x2) working.

DEC Advice a Microvax-II in circuit emulator board

NEC evakit 8400, 8048/9 in circut and eprom programming
system


Just a few odd items that come to mind.

Allison

[olddataman]

Well, of course the most valuable thing I have owned was my Apple 1, and I won't tell you how much I got for it, but I will tell you
Sallem's commission on the sale was $1500,00, and that did not put a very big dent in te gross.

The rest of the stufff I will list here is interesting because I gpt ot all at no cost to me, from two people that bought it all from me in thr first place. You can't beat that price with a stick. :lol: I sold a complete SOL=20 system to a gentleman who was very crippled with artheritis. His plan was to write a series of tech manuals describing all of the escape sequences amd switch settings etc/ for every printer of the market. (He self-published three of them befoe his death in 1983, and his wife gave me a set when she gave me the computer) It had dual Micropolis disc drives, with aa Vector Graphcs Micropolis disk controlleer, and three stati memory boards. The compute was sold with a product whose name escapes me , but was the only modified IBM Correcting Selectric to ever be accepted by IBM foor their field service support. I still have it ifanyone is interested in a truly rare vintage peripheral from about 1978 or 79. It is like new, having ben used for only a short time befre the customer changed from the SOL-30 to an Apple II+ and a CIOTH 8510 printer. So the Selectric is like new, with maybe 2500 to 5000 characters typed on it.
At the same time as she gave me the SOL-20 she also gave me the Apple II+ which they had prchased from me. I still have it, too.
Now, about ten years ago I got a call from the wife of a GP family doctor who was alsso a friend and customer. She said that the doctor was retiring and the were movig to Michigan, and when she asked him what to do with the computers he told her to give them back to me if I wanted them, otherwise take tem to the recycle center. She called me and I, of course, grabbed them immediately. What I got was threee Osborne 1's with all upgrades installed, double densit disk drives, 80 column ddisplay options and monitors to go with them, two Osborne modems, a hard disk (10 meg. I think) all kinds of spare cables, a spare keyboard and one set of docs. She gave me severa; loose leaf binders aand a ton of other stuff including two sets of FOG library disks (about 1000 total.

I don't think anyone can beat those deals. I sold them bth all that equipment and suplies, at my usual miserable profit, and then got it all back free! Not bad for poor kud from "Lake Woebegone, Minnesota"!

Ray

[Terry Yager]

I can believe ya, cause I'm one of "those people" I've been known to buy the same item from the same person 2 or 3 times over. My computer storage ability was in a state of flux for several years, due to several untimely moves. I'd give away computers to people when I had no place to store them, then later on, buy (or swap) them back when I had the space. I'm currently negotiating a deal with the guy I gave all my C= stuff to, for an SX-64. I never actually owned that particular machine, but he sure did make a haul when he carried of my C= collection, so hopefully he'll take that into consideration, and not rape me too badly on the SX.

--T

[curtis]

Regarding my earlier post...

I now have in my grubby little (okay, not so little) hands one each

NEC PC-8201 RED and
NEC PC-8201 SILVER!!!!!

They are so beeeyootifull!

If my current job (Recruiter-In-Charge of a Navy Recruting Station in Cleburne, TX) will allow me a little time I will get my web page posted under my new provider and show the dynamic duo off!

[Unknown_K]

I can believe ya, cause I'm one of "those people" I've been known to buy the same item from the same person 2 or 3 times over. My computer storage ability was in a state of flux for several years, due to several untimely moves. I'd give away computers to people when I had no place to store them, then later on, buy (or swap) them back when I had the space. I'm currently negotiating a deal with the guy I gave all my C= stuff to, for an SX-64. I never actually owned that particular machine, but he sure did make a haul when he carried of my C= collection, so hopefully he'll take that into consideration, and not rape me too badly on the SX.

--T

I guess you are lucky and the people you sold items too didn't resell on eBay.

[Terry Yager]

I know a few other local collectors, and that's where a lot of my stuff ends up -- in someone else's collection.

--T

[Kaptain Skitzo]

Hi all.


1) What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot?
2) Where did you get it from
3) How much did it cost you.
4) What item would you love to add to your collection.


Ok...Love to hear from all of ya's!

1- Rare? A couple of things...an old Commodore Calculator(which is STILL new in the box)...I took it out of the box twice, once to make sure it functioned, and more recently, to take pictures of it. I paid a whopping $5 for it at the Trenton, NJ computer show about 7-8 years ago(I forget exactly, but it was the last year they held it at Mercer County Community College).
I also have a rare Amiga 500 Rev 8 motherboard...it was the last modification of the A500, and never actually shipped in the form of a system(IIRC). I purchased it from an Amiga dealer in NY, whom I met(and my friend had known for a while) at the Dayton, OH computer show. That cost me $75.

Are they valuable? I don't know. They are to me, and I have no intention of selling them anytime soon.

[patscc]

Yeah !
Finally got quote to work.
agrajag wrote: What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot? Where did you get it from How much did it cost you.
What item would you love to add to your collection.
Dr. Who game for PC. Never seen another one on eBay. To me, it's beyond priceless. I think I'd rather get run over by a Buick( and yes, I know what that feels like) than part with it. England About 8 quid, at the time Well, If there are any more Dr. Who games, the answer is obvious, barring that, I'd like some S100 stuff, mainly so I can play around with it. I know it pops up on eBay, but they're really colector prices, not "I want to muck around with it" prices
patscc.

[gcarrick]

1) Our rarest machine is a Four-PhaseSystems IV/90. That I know of there are only about 5 in the world. I would love to find out there are more. Out web page has a thumbnail that will show you a large picture of this machine.

We also have a Basic IV piece that is built in a wooden box! It may be just a dumb terminal. I have not dived into it yet.

2) It was given to me by an ex-Four Phase employee.

3) Only the gas to go get it.

4) Anything small. We right now have as much as we can hold - space is at a premium here.

[barto]

- I don't know how many were made, but this was supposed to be the successor to the 8080 after Pertec bought Altair (going from memory here, someone please correct if I got something wrong). Pretty big and heavy - I'm going to have to find a new home for it soon to reclaim some space! Now if I can only find the manual and software I had to go with it...

Other rare/unusual items I've collected:

- Apple IIe with the IIgs upgrade. This is rare mostly because the cost of upgrading one's IIe to a IIgs cost nearly as much as just buying a IIgs system unit, so not too many actually sold. Anyone know the numbers?

- HP-86 computer/calculator (monitor sits on top of a system unit)

- Olivetti M-10, essentially a clone of the Tandy Model 100/102

- Woz IIgs with the Transwarp GS and SCSI cards

- Mac 128K (and one that was upgraded to a 512K)

- Set of Apple IIe sales cassette tapes

- Apple IIe with the French-Canadian keyboard (still have a couple)

- Atari 2400 video game console. Looks just like a 2600, but the box says '2400' on it...!

- sold off my Commodore SuperPet SP9000 not long ago with the dual floppies. I think they used LEAD for the case on that thing! ;-)

that's all I can think of right now. Quite a bit of this I got from garage sales, thrift stores, and some from a school board that was throwing out stuff the schools didn't want anymore. I wish I could've saved it all!

Bart

[alltare]

The PCC-2000 was Pertec's "Business System" that was supposed to carry the company into the next generation of computers, after they acquired MITS and ICOM. So they killed the Altairs. The 2000s had their problems, and were never too popular- other manufacturers had siezed the lead by then. Although they could run CP/M, they were usually issued with MITS/Altair/Microsoft 300-5 BASIC, along with the accounting programs that were eventually to to become known as Peachtree Software ("ASDC" software at the time).

If I recall correctly, they used the 8085 CPU (essentially, a souped up 8080), had 64K RAM, and dual 8" floppies.

You're right- they're probably pretty rare. Mainly because nobody wanted one of the things. Since MITS closed down in the late '70s, I've seen lots of Altairs, but only one PCC-2000.

Alltare


- I don't know how many were made, but this was supposed to be the successor to the 8080 after Pertec bought Altair (going from memory here, someone please correct if I got something wrong). Pretty big and heavy - I'm going to have to find a new home for it soon to reclaim some space! Now if I can only find the manual and software I had to go with it...

Bart

[barto]

The PCC-2000 was Pertec's "Business System" that was supposed to carry the company into the next generation of computers, after they acquired MITS and ICOM. So they killed the Altairs. The 2000s had their problems, and were never too popular- other manufacturers had siezed the lead by then. Although they could run CP/M, they were usually issued with MITS/Altair/Microsoft 300-5 BASIC, along with the accounting programs that were eventually to to become known as Peachtree Software ("ASDC" software at the time).

If I recall correctly, they used the 8085 CPU (essentially, a souped up 8080), had 64K RAM, and dual 8" floppies.

I never checked on the CPU (or the RAM), but the dual 8" floppies really jump out at you... ;)

Thanks for the extra info - that all sounds right. Too bad I couldn't remember it myself!

You're right- they're probably pretty rare. Mainly because nobody wanted one of the things. Since MITS closed down in the late '70s, I've seen lots of Altairs, but only one PCC-2000.

Alltare

Yeah, that's why I thought it was rare. I'm more than a little curious as to how *valuable* it is, though...more than an Altair since there are so few of them around?

Thanks again for the reply.

Bart

[Terry Yager]

Unfortunately, a thing like that's "value" is often determined not by it's rarity, but by how well-known it is, and how popular among collectors. Sometimes, it's hard to get a good price for something that is truly rare because not enough people are familliar enough with it to drive up the demand for it (& the price).

--T

[1ajs]

some old rare cpus from the early 70's that were equvelent to a 286

a 32bit procesor cpu card for the heathkit h89 it has 2 gold cpus on one white chip peace
h10
h11
has all manuals for these and has software and paper stips still!! last check all in workking order


the cpu card herit gorden mines paid like 10,000$ for it when it was new my dad got it for free when the mine closed along with bunch of other computer parts manuals and old tubes and tools

i personly have some 1.53 gb drives from 1987 not sure w type they were since they take scusi cable and another smaller cable paid 10$ for 2 of them and has a 700 mb drive from 86 paid 5 4 for it all in the same day back when a 1 -5 gig used drive was 80$ lol. not to metion all the energy it too to cary the dam things home they must weighed 10-20 lbs each lol good thing it was just a stoll cuple block away from home over the tracks
lol

[Blackcube]

Rarest? Probably my BeBox dual 133. Around 800 produced.

Favorite? My NeXT Turbo Dimension Cube.

Next Favorite? My eight Sgi Indigo's or my Indy

Least Favorite? Xerox 6060

First in my collection was my Tandy 1000HD, but it was new from the Radio Shack computer center when I bought it in 1984.

[Mad-Mike]

For me it has to be my two GEM desktop IBM Compatibles. Sure they're only white box clones, but the cases and much of the hardware in those models ends up being very non-standard and nifty. They may not be that valuable to others, but they are to me, they do my work as well as form a portion of my vintage PC collection, and that out-modded thing I have is one of them too, that was my first case mod.

As far as collectors value, I've never had anything all that valuable in money.

[Blackcube]

For me it has to be my two GEM desktop IBM Compatibles. Sure they're only white box clones, but the cases and much of the hardware in those models ends up being very non-standard and nifty. They may not be that valuable to others, but they are to me, they do my work as well as form a portion of my vintage PC collection, and that out-modded thing I have is one of them too, that was my first case mod.

As far as collectors value, I've never had anything all that valuable in money.

I used Gem 1.2 on my Tandy 1000's in the mid-80's. My wife at the time was not too bright for a college grad and could never remember the DOS commands to navigate between directories and to start apps. Gem was a life saver for me in keeping her off my back.

[mryon]

I used to have a 200mhz BeBox.

Nope, those were never sold. I only
know of two of them in existence.

Do I wish I kept it? yep ;)

Rarest? Probably my BeBox dual 133. Around 800 produced.

[Donni]

I've been collecting commodore goodies for many years now so i have quite a collection of C= things.
But the rarest i have must be the C65.
There are only prototypes of this machine, they were never officially released.
The C65 is popular among collectors, so it's worth quite some money too.
Not that i'm planning to sell it :wink:

[Gazzalodi]

1) What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot?
- Not really that rare, but a pain to keep at home. Cray Y-MP EL98

2) Where did you get it from
- Ebay

3) How much did it cost you.
- $750 which is .1% of it's original price

4) What item would you love to add to your collection.
- A Cray 1, 2, X-MP or Y-MP(full size)

[CraigLandrum]

Big house, huge basement, tons of junk. Some of the major stuff I've collected in the 30+ years I've been programming:

Two IMSAI's complete with dual double-density 8-inch drives, 64K RAM, and (later) additions of 5.25 and 3.5 inch drives. 4Mhz Z-80 in both. Both boot and run CP/M 2.2, Wordstar, MBASIC, Tiny-C, ZORK, etc.

Altair 8800 with Altair 8 inch hard-sector disk drive, 64K RAM, Serial I/O, Parallel I/O, all original MITS boards, 2Mhz 8080 (in the process of being restored)

The original 128K Mac with carry case, external 3.5 inch floppy, Imagewriter-I, and (only one I've ever seen) - a Micron Eye digital camera that used something called "optical RAM". Tons of software such as Smoothtalker, music programs, games, etc. Boots into Finder 1.0 and runs perfectly.

O'Dell word processor - a 12 inch CRT and dual 8-inch floppies running multibus boards and an 8085 processor. Boots and runs CP/M 2.2. Only one I've ever heard of.

The only working Genrad Futuredata I've ever seen or heard of. Used to develop software/firmware for virtually any 8-bit CPU, this one was used in the late 70's early 80's to develop firmware for Z-80 based multibus boards. Dual 8-inch floppies. Complete with OS, editor, compiler, linker, and debugger. Boots and runs fine. I have a second unit that lacks only
memory.

Original IBM-PC with 5.25 inch floppy, original IBM keyboard and monitor.
Boots and runs PC DOS fine.

Cromemco S-100 Z-80 based CP/M turnkey system. Boots and runs.

Via Video S-100 based Cromix system. Future restoration project.

Masscomp 68010-based Unix box. Boots and runs Masscomps Real Time Unix. Used in the development of the US Patent Office backfile scanning system.

TRS-80 Model I with 16K RAM. Powers up and runs Basic.

TRS-80 Pocket Computer with 16K RAM and attached miniature 4-color pen plotter. Runs BASIC. Still works!

Morrow Z-80 based portable computer with dual double-density 5.25 floppies and built-in amber monitor. Boots and Runs CP/M 2.2. Very nice CP\M machine.

Numerous Apple Macs of various vintage.

Numerous old S-100 cards by IMSAI, MITS, SD-Sales, Solid State Music (nice RAM cards), Cromemco, others.

I also collect and restore old keyboard instruments such as pipe organs, pump organs, and player pianos, but that's another story :-)

[vic user]

sweet!

chris

[billdeg]

I have the original prototype TRS-80 Model 4, with original blue prints. This was the test model submitted to Tandy before being put into production. The unit has no FCC sticker, and does not have the port map, or S/N. THe keyboard is all white. there is only one of these, eh?

[Terry Yager]

Wow!

--T

[MystikShadows]

I have the original prototype TRS-80 Model 4, with original blue prints. This was the test model submitted to Tandy before being put into production. The unit has no FCC sticker, and does not have the port map, or S/N. THe keyboard is all white. there is only one of these, eh?

Wow is the right word, think you can post a picture of it? without infringing any NDA documents or copyrights of course :-)....I'm MORE than curious to get a glimpse of it :-).

[billdeg]

I believe that the "prototype" was the final in-house pre-mass production model.

Here are some pics that I took and uploaded to my web site that compare and contrast the prototype with a standard version:

http://www.vintagecomputer.net/tandy/trs80_4/

Notes:
1) keyboards are different
2) underside is different
3) amber vs. grey monitor
4) I am guessing that the diskette drive 0 on the prototype was replaced some time after standard production had begun and is not an original part.
5) I have not opened the prototype or the standard, there are no pics available of the insides.
6) I fogot to take a picture of the blueprints. They are engineering diagrams of the model 4. pretty cool..

Speaking of rare and Tandy, here is something else you may find interesting from my collection- a working Exatron Stringy Floppy:

http://www.vintagecomputer.net/tandy/trs80_1/exatron_stringy_floppy/

and a Lobo MAX 80
http://www.vintagecomputer.net/tandy/trs80_1/lobo/

[MystikShadows]

Well to be honest, I never heard of that exatron drive :-). but it looks good :-).

I heard only twice before about the Lobo MAX 80.....never saw it just heard about it :-). Thanks for putting a picture to the name :-). what's it's specs?

[Rick Ethridge]

I have the original prototype TRS-80 Model 4, with original blue prints. This was the test model submitted to Tandy before being put into production. The unit has no FCC sticker, and does not have the port map, or S/N. THe keyboard is all white. there is only one of these, eh?

Makes my Model 4 look shabby. Bravo!

[Terry Yager]

Really, that's the first Lobo I've ever seen too. Doesn't seem to be any others anywhere on daNet. I've got an LNW80 (yet another TRS-80 clone) here, if anyone is interested in viewing a pic. I'll drag it out later and snap it. (It actually belongs to pat_scc, another member of these forums, I'm just storing it for him).

--T

[MystikShadows]

I'ld love to see it :-)

[DimensionDude]

billdeg,

Yikes, that sagging shelf makes me nervous :wink:

Almost as bad as my leaning shelves :D

Kent

[Terry Yager]

As requested:

http://webpages.charter.net/shent449/comphell/lnw.jpg


--T

[billdeg]

I will put up some better LOBO photos when I have the chance. The computer works, but I don't have (or have not found) the boot disk that goes with for the matching 8" disk drive. I have not actually used the Lobo. I may be able to hack in with the stringy floppy.

In additon to what was pictured I also have a Lobo hard drive, MAX 80 manuals, etc. My copy of the manuals states that it is a "pre-release." I am pretty sure the hard ware was an evaluation unit because of the letters I found in the box. The hard drive did not come with it's own power supply, this had to be fashioned separately.

Terry - your link to the LNW80 is not working, check the link. I would love to see it, they are pretty rare.

The shelf that I store the Model 4's looks bent, but it's sturdy! 8)

[MystikShadows]

hmm link didn't work for some reason :-)

[Terry Yager]

My st00pid isp never works right away for some reason. If you try again tomorrow, it'll probably work ok. Sorry for the inconvenience.

--T

[billdeg]

Terry - The URL is syntactically incorrect. That might explain the problem.

[Terry Yager]

Terry - The URL is syntactically incorrect. That might explain the problem.

Help? (It's entered exactly as my ISP says it should be).

--T

[MystikShadows]

Where did you put your picture, in which folder of your webspace?

from what I know default.html/picturename.jpg shouldn't work....maybe it's default/picture.jpg

Depending on where you put it on your webspace we'll be able to syntaxically correct your link ;-)

[billdeg]

here is what you need:

1. what is the url of your web site home page? It's going to be something like webpages.charter.net/[yourusername]/
2. what is the name of the image file, exactly?
3. did you create a directory to upload the image, or did you simply upload to the root of your hosting account?

what is your charter.net username? substitute tyager (my guess) for the correct username below and you'll probably get the link to work, assuming you uploaded to the root of your hosting account:

webpages.charter.net/tyager/lnw.jpg

[Terry Yager]

Tried it all those ways, still no go. Lemme work on it some more, might figger it out yet.

--T

[Terry Yager]

I think I got it now:

http://webpages.charter.net/shent449/comphell/lnw.jpg

I figgered out that even though the ISP is telling me that I'm on my own page, I was actually on my g/f's page instead. (The account is in her name). Charter.net is just st00pit!!!

--T

[MystikShadows]

Yup...I can get to it fine now :-) woooohooo

[MystikShadows]

By the way, in this picture
http://webpages.charter.net/shent449/comphell/PDRM0147.JPG

What's that IBM box that looks like a microwave with a 5 1/4" drive on the left? :-)

[Terry Yager]

By the way, in this picture
http://webpages.charter.net/shent449/comphell/PDRM0147.JPG

What's that IBM box that looks like a microwave with a 5 1/4" drive on the left? :-)

It was an "Establishment Controller" (I've sold it now). It's like a glorified network switch or hub...turns one (coax) input into eight outputs (terminals).

--T

[Terry Yager]

What was happening is that even though I'm logged into my own page, when I u/l the files, charter.net dumps them into her default directory for some reason. Hmmmnn...

--T

[MystikShadows]

That is weird yes....is her folder inside your webspace? or does she have her own? if she has her own then they might have switched your two accounts....

[Terry Yager]

That is weird yes....is her folder inside your webspace? or does she have her own? if she has her own then they might have switched your two accounts....

I think it's just because she is considered the "owner" of my page as well as hers. My page is supposed to be a separate entity, but apparently there's some kinda glitch in charter's software or sum'n... (We used to have problems with her getting my email, and vicey-versey, but we got that all worked out somehow). Time to spend a few hours on the phone with TechSupport, I'm afraid.

--T

[billdeg]

does it work?

[Terry Yager]

does it work?

It did work the last time it worked. (It's been in storage for several years, so I haven't tried to power it up recently).

--T

[carlsson]

That LNW80 keyboard is shockingly alike a Commodore keyboard. Swap the ENTER and the two keys to its right, replace the cursor right with a bigger RESTORE key and of course dump the numeric key pad in favour for four function keys. Maybe the matrix was a standardized one which was sold to several manufacturers? I mean, many keyboards are similar but this was probably the closest match I've seen.

[thefoolonthehill]

My IMSAI 8080... I think it's worth at least $500.... I haven't tried selling it, and I don't think I will. It doesn't work though :(

I had an Apple IIe but I stupidly sold it on eBay for like $25 and ended up paying more to ship the dang thing than I made (like $100!!) I hate selling heavy things on eBay. My next Apple II is gonna be a IIc. If any.

[Zmatt]

my rarest machine has got to be my trs-80 mc10 from what i understand it was a flop and only a few thousand were sold its in the origional box with the manuals and everything! i'm not quite sure of how much it will go for and i don't think i want to know. what do i wish i had? a MAC classic and one of the 8-bit atari's preferably the 800 or 1040ST

[carlsson]

Although 1040ST belongs to the 16-bit line.. :-) Maybe you're thinking of the 130XE?

[Terry Yager]

I've got a 520ST available, if you're interested.

--T

[Zmatt]

perhaps but i think that the 1040 was the first one with a floppy drive? If so that one was an old favorite of mine. but i like all atari's TOS was way ahead of it's time.

[Terry Yager]

The 520 has a built-in 3.5" drive. I think the main difference is that the 1040 has twice as much RAM. (I'm not real familliar with Atari stuff).

--T

[carlsson]

I'm no Atari guru neither, but I think you're correct. Basically, the letters tell you what you get: 520 or 1040 for memory size, F for built-in floppy, M for built-in RF modulator, E for the enhanced model with blitter. My brother once had a 1040STFM and upgraded to a 1040STE (which IIRC implies it also has built-in floppy and RF modulator).

And of course the floppy is 3.5".. :wink: Most references to a 3.25" disk appears to be typos, possibly mixing up with 5.25". One site even mentioned 3.25' disks. Those would be rather large to carry around, about one meter in diameter.

Via a mailing list archive on classiccmp (http://classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/2001-March/165619.html), I found that 3.25" was a format invented by Dysan, announced as a product via Tabor TC500 in December 1982, five months ahead of Sony's 3.5" drive. They appear to be downsized versions of 5.25" disks, measurement selected to easily adopt the existing machinery. If Fred is correct about a lot of software were available on this format but only one computer actually used the disks, it seems a bit bizarre. Maybe the drives could be fitted with other computers too, but only one officially adopted it?

[DimensionDude]

And of course the floppy is 3.5".. Wink Most references to a 3.25" disk appears to be typos, possibly mixing up with 5.25". One site even mentioned 3.25' disks. Those would be rather large to carry around, about one meter in diameter.

Heh, it's like those 52' bigscreen tvs I see in the classified ads in the newspaper. Where would you put such a beast? :wink:

Kent

[carlsson]

It was a while since I took trigonometry and all that stuff, but assuming the display is 16:9, I suppose a 52 feet TV would have a display that is about 13.8 m (45'3") wide and 7.8 m (25'7") long. Add some fluff around it and.. wow. Talk about a wall TV, or more like jumbotron on a sports arena.

(Hmm.. sorry, this went out of topic, but if one had a TV like that, I'm sure it would be among the most valuable and perhaps rarest items, even if it strictly speaking would not be a computer)

[DimensionDude]

Well, to try to bring it nearer to topic, just imagine playing your favorite first-person shooter or driving game on a screen like that. Talk about total immersion gaming 8)

[Terry Yager]

And of course the floppy is 3.5".. Wink

Better now?

--T

[carlsson]

Yep. Even Pong or a DOS prompt on its own would look stunning on a such wall sized display.

[Zmatt]

I'm sure only the most elite including the Gates man himself could afford that beast. the rest of us would have to spend our entire life's savings, but hey its "the American Way" isn't it?

[carlsson]

Well, if people can buy $50,000+ cars, why not $50,000+ TV sets?

[Unknown_K]

After a certain price point all you are buying is the name and the exclusivity the pricetag affords. a $50K TV is the same as a $20K TV but fewer people can afford it so its better.

[mryon]

After a certain price point all you are buying is the name and the exclusivity the pricetag affords. a $50K TV is the same as a $20K TV but fewer people can afford it so its better.

to each his own I guess...but is there anything worth watching on TV?

I found a TV in my garage. Left by a previous flatmate.

That works more than well enough.

[Blackcube]

The item in my collection that is worth the most? Either the NeXT Turbo Dimension Cube with N4005 21" color monitor, N4000a 17" monochrome monitor setup in dual head, NeXT Laser printer and NeXT SCSI Color printer. Or the BeBox Rev8 Dual 133. Both seem to sell on ebay for around a grand.

Thr rarest item is either the BeBox (around 800 produced) or my Canon object.station 41 (no production figures released by Canon) with Canon monitor, mouse and keyboard plus all OS and driver disks OEM'ed from Canon.

Canon won't even admit to making the object.station.

[Vlad]

The rarest thing I probably have is a motherboard that says "Manufactured By Lockheed Missile and Space Company" on it. I have never seen that before. Wow, a company that makes ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) also made a 386 for some reason...

-Vlad

[Blackcube]

The rarest thing I probably have is a motherboard that says "Manufactured By Lockheed Missile and Space Company" on it. I have never seen that before. Wow, a company that makes ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) also made a 386 for some reason...

-Vlad

Probably for a mil spec computer. The US armed forces can't purchase a generic mobo for <$100. They probably paid Lockheed >$1000 for the exact same thing. You know, from the days of the megabucks hammers and toliet seats.

Still a cool collectable!

BTW, Vlad, I have all your stuff gathered up. I just need to bubble wrap it and weigh it. Then you can pick your favorite freight mangler.

[Vlad]

BTW, Vlad, I have all your stuff gathered up. I just need to bubble wrap it and weigh it. Then you can pick your favorite freight mangler.

Ok, E-mail me when you have got all the info!

-Vlad

[Terry Yager]

a motherboard that says "Manufactured By Lockheed Missile and Space Company" on it.

Kewl!

--T

[MystikShadows]

I was given (says much about it's value lol) an IBM 5100, but the only thing that might have helped it's value was that it was complete with all possible extensions on it, the 3 feet high dual 8" floppy tower (bigger than most small fridges) and a 17" printer with that ball typing thing, not a daisy wheel...

that's about it for the rare stuff lol.

[TurboX]

I searched for the word "Excalibur" on here and not one mention!

So I guess it must be rare the 1980 "Excalibur 64" - a Z80 CPM based KIT Computer you built your self with a $99 backup to fix your ham fisted stuffups.

Upgraded to Basic when Bills source code was debugged and made to actually work.

About 500 KITs and 1000 full builds completed and sold before closing the doors.

The Melbourne (Australia) Excalibur users group actually lasted to about 1986 well into IBM/intel territory.

[computermuseum]

So :
1) What do/did you have that is rare/worth a lot?
2) Where did you get it from
3) How much did it cost you.
4) What item would you love to add to your collection.

Ok...Love to hear from all of ya's!

The best thing I've got to get free in my collection was:

Commodore Kim 1 with case
Osborne 1
Motorola Monoboard (i don't remember the number of the board right now)
Sinclair Zx Spectrum 148K
IBM 5120 set
Memorex 512

Bargains:

Sinclair Zx 80 for 10 Eur.
Commodore 610 & 710 for a good value (I have more of them to be sold)
(they are "new" and in the original box)
Oric 1 for 10 Eur.

I know there are a lot of other things which I got for a bargain...

Located in Belgium

If any interest in Commodore 610/710 contact me (Won't sell for cheap as they are new in the box!)

[Bob Brubaker]

I have a IBM 701 electrostatic memory CRT/tube. Circa 1952.
It held 2048 bits of memory. The Computer History Museum in Mountain View CA
has one also that I gave to them.

A friend of mine has an electrostatic memory tube that was on the JOHNiac
at Rand corp. before it was converted to Core memory.

[ColourClassic]

I have an Apple Lisa 2 with prototype plastics.

I also have An Olivetti L1 mini computer which i can't find much info on.

[dreddnott]

I'm not really sure as far as my work and home collections - for work, probably the Quantum Q2020 8" hard disk drive (with a clear plastic cover over the platters so you can see the head action) and Motorola 6800 demo kit from 1976 (their first microprocessor!).

At home I have a decked-out TRS-80 Model 2000 - DOS 2.1 on the 20MB drive, 80186 CPU, 14" color monitor, and ARCnet adapter. The only thing I'm missing is the keyboard!

[Terry Yager]

I'll see what I can dig up.

--T

[andrewpi]

Ref: Masscomp stuff!

I use to work for Masscomp in the 80's and I've been looking for some Masscomp spares / systems don't surpose you would be willing to part with your Masscomp or do you have any spare you would sell or swap?

I have a 5450 and parts of a 5500 also has some OS and app floppies...

Ta,

Andy.

Big house, huge basement, tons of junk. Some of the major stuff I've collected in the 30+ years I've been programming:

Two IMSAI's complete with dual double-density 8-inch drives, 64K RAM, and (later) additions of 5.25 and 3.5 inch drives. 4Mhz Z-80 in both. Both boot and run CP/M 2.2, Wordstar, MBASIC, Tiny-C, ZORK, etc.

Altair 8800 with Altair 8 inch hard-sector disk drive, 64K RAM, Serial I/O, Parallel I/O, all original MITS boards, 2Mhz 8080 (in the process of being restored)

The original 128K Mac with carry case, external 3.5 inch floppy, Imagewriter-I, and (only one I've ever seen) - a Micron Eye digital camera that used something called "optical RAM". Tons of software such as Smoothtalker, music programs, games, etc. Boots into Finder 1.0 and runs perfectly.

O'Dell word processor - a 12 inch CRT and dual 8-inch floppies running multibus boards and an 8085 processor. Boots and runs CP/M 2.2. Only one I've ever heard of.

The only working Genrad Futuredata I've ever seen or heard of. Used to develop software/firmware for virtually any 8-bit CPU, this one was used in the late 70's early 80's to develop firmware for Z-80 based multibus boards. Dual 8-inch floppies. Complete with OS, editor, compiler, linker, and debugger. Boots and runs fine. I have a second unit that lacks only
memory.

Original IBM-PC with 5.25 inch floppy, original IBM keyboard and monitor.
Boots and runs PC DOS fine.

Cromemco S-100 Z-80 based CP/M turnkey system. Boots and runs.

Via Video S-100 based Cromix system. Future restoration project.

Masscomp 68010-based Unix box. Boots and runs Masscomps Real Time Unix. Used in the development of the US Patent Office backfile scanning system.

TRS-80 Model I with 16K RAM. Powers up and runs Basic.

TRS-80 Pocket Computer with 16K RAM and attached miniature 4-color pen plotter. Runs BASIC. Still works!

Morrow Z-80 based portable computer with dual double-density 5.25 floppies and built-in amber monitor. Boots and Runs CP/M 2.2. Very nice CP\M machine.

Numerous Apple Macs of various vintage.

Numerous old S-100 cards by IMSAI, MITS, SD-Sales, Solid State Music (nice RAM cards), Cromemco, others.

I also collect and restore old keyboard instruments such as pipe organs, pump organs, and player pianos, but that's another story :-)

[DOS-Master]

original apple lisa in box (un-opened)

[Erik]

original apple lisa in box (un-opened)

Is that a Lisa 1 (Twiggy drives) or a Lisa 2 (3.5" drives)?

[DOS-Master]

it is a lisa 2

[Terry Yager]

it is a lisa 2

Well, that makes all the difference between a $500.00 system and a $10,000.00 one...

(My friend, Mark, has one of the originals, but he doesn't have the parts to convert it back to the Lisa 1 (drives, faceplate, etc))

--T

[DOS-Master]

you mean I can sell my boxed lisa 2 for 10,000!

[carlsson]

No, but if it had been a boxed Lisa 1, that's its approximate value. Still, if it boxed and truly unopened, maybe it would bring in more than the typical boxed, but once used Lisa 2?

[Micom 2000]

Up till today I had a Micom 2000. It's now boxed and shortly on the way to a major collector. Free except for considerable shipping costs because of its metal casing.

I sent the system disks, manual, and other docs previously to a canadian museum.

The founder of Micom, Stephen Dorsey, had started up a company in Montreal, AES, which made the first programmable word processor, !973 perhaps.

He sold out his share in AES in 1975 and founded Micom with the proceeds and another partner Louis Miller.

Alto marketed as a word processor it was an 8080 computer and later had a MSDOS Basic version on it
which used the full capabilities of the 8080 chip.

To put this into historical perspective. Here's some stuff from The Computer History Timeline:

March (75)
Fred Moore and Gordon French hold the first meeting of a new microcomputer hobbyist's club in French's garage, in Menlo Park, California. 32 people meet, including Bob Albrect, Steve Dompier, Lee Felsenstein, Bob Marsh, Tom Pittman, Marty Spergel, Alan Baum, and Steven Wozniak. Bob Albrect shows off an Altair, and Steve Dompier reports on MITS, and how they had 4000 orders for the Altair. [185.110] [266.104] [301.55] [346.18] [353.200] [346.257] (April [208.67] 266.39)

Stephen Dorsey, founder of Automatic Electronic Systems, sells his 25% of the company for $135,000. [615.98]
Stephen Dorsey and Louis Miller found Micom Data Systems, in Canada. [615.90]

July (75)
Bill Gates and Paul Allen sign a licensing agreement with MITS, for their implementation of the BASIC language. [299.8]
Bill Gates and Paul Allen ship 4K and 8K version of BASIC v2.0. [123]
Dick Heiser opens Arrow Head Computer Company, subtitled "The Computer Store", in Los Angeles, selling assembled Altairs, boards, peripherals, and magazines. This is the first retail computer store in the USA. [266.185] [684.41]
Micom Data Systems ships its first product, the Micom 2000 word processing computer. [615.99]

September (75)
IBM's Entry Level Systems unit unveils "Project Mercury", the IBM 5100 Portable Computer. It is a briefcase-size minicomputer with BASIC, 16KB RAM, tape storage, and built-in 5-inch screen. Price: US$9000. Weight: 55 pounds. [9] [197.xi] (Price over US$10,000 [203.10])
The first issue of Byte magazine is published. [9] [266.159]

March (76)
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs finish work on a computer circuit board, that they call the Apple I computer. [46]
By the end of its first year in business, Micom Data Systems ships 180 Micom 2000 computers, worth $2 million. [615.99]

Among it's customers Micom had at least 100 units at NASA taking load off the mainframe. It was used by many big corporations such as Boston Gas, and serious printing companies to do their Linotype setup.

Yet it is little known. Besides obviously eclipsing the much-told glory episodes of the Steves of Apple fame Dorsey was well ahead of his time. He later went on to do major developments in world communications.

The Hyperion, a canadian computer made big inroads in the Insurance company market in Canada. Many have suggested that is why IBM issued the very unsuccessful IBM 5100.

But then again Americans want US heroes. so the Teslas, G.A. Bells, Banting and Best who developed insulin, or Einstein who spent his last years in the US, the Watt group and the other incredible computer people who came out of Waterloo U. and other canadian universities are ignored.

Some of the supposedly great American inventors such as Edison who stole many of his inventions from Tesla were frauds. Henry Ford was a Hitler supporter.

There are many Americans I admire enormously, both my parents were born in the states, but possibly the collector community has to broaden it's scope to include such as Dorsey and Sinclair into it's pantheon. Even the admittedly sleazy Sam Tramiel founded Commodore in Canada.

Lawrence

[Terry Yager]

FWIW, I was in (email) contact with Gordon French (one of the founders of the 'Computer Hobby-ists Club') up until a couple years ago. Anybody know whatever became of him? (I'm assuming death, since his emails stopped abruptly)...

--T

[alexkerhead]

original apple lisa in box (un-opened)
You never mentioned this before, not even in your collection.
I think someone is making up stuff.

[Terry Yager]

Now, now...let's not start sum'n here...this is s'pozed to be a friendly, family-oriented forum.

--T

[CP/M User]

Terry Yager wrote:

> Now, now...let's not start sum'n here...this is
> s'pozed to be a friendly, family-oriented forum.

Okay, well for the record & to settle some old scores, the
rarest thing I have is myself (there's only one of me in the
world! :-D And the price of me is priceless (BTW, I'm not for
sale!).

CP/M User.

[Starshadow]

I think someone is making up stuff.

that reminds me of the Alltel Commercial

"Lisa Unopened?! You're Mr. Make-Stuff-Up not Mr. Lisa-Unopened!":lol:

[alexkerhead]

LOL.
OMFG!
I just got an original altair kit, unopened in a box, oh wait, thats right, I have three of them!.


lol....j/k
Anyway, the rarest thing I have is....hummm....Commodore SX-64 I guess, oh, and the commodore cbm8032(pet)

[Starshadow]

probably my Mac 128k and ( at least in the US) My Wonderswan Color Handheld game system. My HP Apollo's seems to be rare in this neck of the woods, but i'm not sure if they're really rare or still are in service and not on the used market much.

[DOS-Master]

You never mentioned this before, not even in your collection.
I think someone is making up stuff.

no check the collection thread

[DOS-Master]

probably my Mac 128k and ( at least in the US) My Wonderswan Color Handheld game system. My HP Apollo's seems to be rare in this neck of the woods, but i'm not sure if they're really rare or still are in service and not on the used market much.

mac 128k are nice

[alexkerhead]

no check the collection thread
OK, I stand corrected. But, why didn't you say anything about an unopened lisa in your intro thread where you listed your rare stuff?
an ibm pc-2
a compaq portableII
a dell latitude xpi
a g3
a comodore pet
a superbrain (sold it)