Old junk or rare and valuable hardware?
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CDP1802 wrote:
Netronics Elf II from 1978
Don't know about that, but if I ever bump into one of these[^], I'll be seiously tempted.
I had a C64 don't remember the C65 but was looking to get a C128, instead landed a job programming Apple IIe using ProDOS and assembler.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
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CDP1802 wrote:
Netronics Elf II from 1978
Don't know about that, but if I ever bump into one of these[^], I'll be seiously tempted.
They are rare prototypes, so they will probably be expensive as well. But why would you pay so much money? It's of little practical use by now and there are probably emulators which can give you a good impression what the machine was about.
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverb -
That really looks familiar I was actually looking to buy either it or something similar back when. By the way the old saying probably applies here; "One mans junk is another mans treasure"
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
Mine of course is priceless - to me. I had to let some sweat and blood to get it and kept it working for 32 years. And occasionally I take the old horse for a ride. Programming just one hex keyboard away from the CPU has something of Zen. And I like the old CPU. The CDP1802 was always considered to be 'different' or 'strange'. The truth is that it is one of the earliest processors going in the direction of RISC.
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverb -
I had a C64 don't remember the C65 but was looking to get a C128, instead landed a job programming Apple IIe using ProDOS and assembler.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
Mike Hankey wrote:
landed a job programming Apple IIe using ProDOS and assembler and I still whimper in my sleep.
FTFY :-D
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
I still have my first computer, a Netronics Elf II from 1978. It was a kit and I had to scrape together my allowance to get parts and components. I did what I could, but I never got all the neat expansions and had to content with 4k RAM and great black and white graphics at a resolution of 64 x 32 pixels or 64 x 64 pixels. Now I came across someone who wants to sell his old computer. Unlike mine it has practically everything the manufacturer had to offer, including several 4k and 16k memory expansion boards. The four 4k cards cost about 110$ each back then. I know. At least I have one of them. And the two 16k cards were extremely expensive. I would be crazy enough to buy it, but it's only sold completely and the seller wants at least 6000$ for it. That price probably would be equivalent to what the entire computer cost back in 1978. I suppose, I will pass on that offer, but what is the right price? The technology is more than obsolete. I could easily get a 64k RAM chip for a few dollars. It would need little additional logic and making the circuit board would be the hardest part. From that perspective, the price is laughable. On the other side it's a rare old machine. I would not hope to find 1000 of them in working condition on the entire planet. But are there really enough people around who are interested enough to pay such a price?
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverbIf you, or anyone else, is willing to pay $6,000 for it then it is worth that price. That is the only criterion on which to base value. Do you really believe that an abstract painting by some old Spanish guy can really be worth $106 million[^]?
I must get a clever new signature for 2011.
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Mike Hankey wrote:
landed a job programming Apple IIe using ProDOS and assembler and I still whimper in my sleep.
FTFY :-D
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes:laugh: :laugh: I wasn't going to tell anyone. :) I communicated with a guy that used to work on my team back then and he said the thing that impressed him about me was that I had the instruction set memorized.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
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Mine of course is priceless - to me. I had to let some sweat and blood to get it and kept it working for 32 years. And occasionally I take the old horse for a ride. Programming just one hex keyboard away from the CPU has something of Zen. And I like the old CPU. The CDP1802 was always considered to be 'different' or 'strange'. The truth is that it is one of the earliest processors going in the direction of RISC.
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverbCDP1802 wrote:
Mine of course is priceless - to me.
Of course it is, if I still had mine it would be too.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
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If you, or anyone else, is willing to pay $6,000 for it then it is worth that price. That is the only criterion on which to base value. Do you really believe that an abstract painting by some old Spanish guy can really be worth $106 million[^]?
I must get a clever new signature for 2011.
Ok, that's a way to see it. At least it's practical. Still, I see some differences to the painting. The old computer had a practical use, which has declined to almost zero in the last 32 years. The painting, if it hever had one, is just as useful as it ever was. The painting has little material value. A canvas and some paint, no more. The computer's components once cost their weight in gold, now they are worth little more than junk. Based on the reputation of the painter and by being a unicate, the painting had a high idealistic value. Does the computer have an idealistic value? Ok, it's from a time before they were built by millions and it is 'half' unique because such computers were a collection of industrially manufactured components and the owner's constructions. So your reasoning goes along the lines what I always say: It's totally unimportant what I can or cannot do. The only thing that counts is, what I can make others believe I can do. And now everything is worth what some fool may think it is. Minus the time and costs to find that fool, I might add :)
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverb -
:laugh: :laugh: I wasn't going to tell anyone. :) I communicated with a guy that used to work on my team back then and he said the thing that impressed him about me was that I had the instruction set memorized.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
Mike Hankey wrote:
I had the instruction set memorized
And thus the whimpering sounds. If you could recite them in hex (or octal) I would be impressed! :-D Not that I knew all the instructions in hex but I did know the more common ones from looking at (core) dumps so often. I had a cheat sheet, which in IBM land was known as a "yellow card", for the rest.
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
CDP1802 wrote:
Mine of course is priceless - to me.
Of course it is, if I still had mine it would be too.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
What was your first computer?
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverb -
Mike Hankey wrote:
I had the instruction set memorized
And thus the whimpering sounds. If you could recite them in hex (or octal) I would be impressed! :-D Not that I knew all the instructions in hex but I did know the more common ones from looking at (core) dumps so often. I had a cheat sheet, which in IBM land was known as a "yellow card", for the rest.
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesJimmyRopes wrote:
If you could recite them in hex (or octal) I would be impressed!
Back then I could, I knew the instruction set inside and out. When we didn't have a lot of work I would set up work shops for us to learn new things. One of the work shops was on self modifying code. The group said it couldn't be done until I showed them how.
If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
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:laugh: :laugh: I wasn't going to tell anyone. :) I communicated with a guy that used to work on my team back then and he said the thing that impressed him about me was that I had the instruction set memorized.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
Mike Hankey wrote:
I had the instruction set memorized
Whole 56 instructions?! My god, that is insane! ;)
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JimmyRopes wrote:
If you could recite them in hex (or octal) I would be impressed!
Back then I could, I knew the instruction set inside and out. When we didn't have a lot of work I would set up work shops for us to learn new things. One of the work shops was on self modifying code. The group said it couldn't be done until I showed them how.
If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
Mike Hankey wrote:
Back then I could, I knew the instruction set inside and out.
Very impressive! :thumbsup:
Mike Hankey wrote:
One of the work shops was on self modifying code. The group said it couldn't be done until I showed them how.
Some people can never get how to do that even after being shown how. Things like that are what I miss about coding in assembler the most.
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
What was your first computer?
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverbNo actually this[^] was the college had it down in the basement and loaned it to me (but never asked for it back) From there I went to the C64.
If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
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I had a C64 don't remember the C65 but was looking to get a C128, instead landed a job programming Apple IIe using ProDOS and assembler.
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut occasionally. http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
Mike Hankey wrote:
don't remember the C65
Well only few prototypes had been built before the project was canalled, they were sold after Commodore declared bankruptcy, so it's hardly in anyone's memory (except Commodore funboys').
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If you, or anyone else, is willing to pay $6,000 for it then it is worth that price. That is the only criterion on which to base value. Do you really believe that an abstract painting by some old Spanish guy can really be worth $106 million[^]?
I must get a clever new signature for 2011.
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JimmyRopes wrote:
If you could recite them in hex (or octal) I would be impressed!
Back then I could, I knew the instruction set inside and out. When we didn't have a lot of work I would set up work shops for us to learn new things. One of the work shops was on self modifying code. The group said it couldn't be done until I showed them how.
If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
Self modifying code was very common, but already then considered a sinister hack :) And don't try it on a more modern CPU with one or more memory cache levels. It will fail miserably or be very inefficient by constantly forcing the caches to be reloaded.
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverb -
Mike Hankey wrote:
I had the instruction set memorized
Whole 56 instructions?! My god, that is insane! ;)
Yeah I know all 56 even as bad as my memory is I can still remember one. NOP = 0x00 :)
If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
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Mike Hankey wrote:
don't remember the C65
Well only few prototypes had been built before the project was canalled, they were sold after Commodore declared bankruptcy, so it's hardly in anyone's memory (except Commodore funboys').
The same fanboys who usually put up the effort to write emulators? :) But by the way, such ideas were the reason for Commodore's as well as Atari's fall. Both had too little innovation until it was too late. What a chance in hell could a pimped up 8 bit design have had in the early 1990s? Even 16 bit CPUs were on the decline and 32 bit CPUs were already taking over.
"I have what could be described as the most wide-open sense of humor on the site, and if I don't think something is funny, then it really isn't." - JSOC, 2011 -----
"Friar Modest never was a prior" - Italian proverb -
Mike Hankey wrote:
Back then I could, I knew the instruction set inside and out.
Very impressive! :thumbsup:
Mike Hankey wrote:
One of the work shops was on self modifying code. The group said it couldn't be done until I showed them how.
Some people can never get how to do that even after being shown how. Things like that are what I miss about coding in assembler the most.
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesJimmyRopes wrote:
Some people can never get how to do that even after being shown how. Things like that are what I miss about coding in assembler the most.
Yeah back then I didn't have a problem remembering things! That's why I like the uControllers I've been messing with kind of a blast from the past. I tend to use more 'C' than assembler nowadays but it's still fun.
If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]
