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Old junk or rare and valuable hardware?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
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  • J JimmyRopes

    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

    Mike HankeyM Offline
    Mike HankeyM Offline
    Mike Hankey
    wrote on last edited by
    #23

    JimmyRopes 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]

    J 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • L Lost User

      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

      M Offline
      M Offline
      Mladen Jankovic
      wrote on last edited by
      #24

      Yeah, I heard it's in $8000-9000 range.

      CDP1802 wrote:

      But why would you pay so much money?

      Why people spend fortunes on art?

      CDP1802 wrote:

      there are probably emulators

      For C65? Unfortunately no, there isn't one.

      [Genetic Algorithm Library]

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • L Lost User

        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 HankeyM Offline
        Mike HankeyM Offline
        Mike Hankey
        wrote on last edited by
        #25

        CDP1802 wrote:

        Self modifying code was very common, but already then considered a sinister hack

        Agreed. I never used it always found other ways to do things but it was something to learn that day and it got us work. One of the EE's came by and saw what we were doing and got us to do a simple job based on it.

        If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

        L 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • L Lost User

          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 proverb

          P Offline
          P Offline
          PIEBALDconsult
          wrote on last edited by
          #26

          I don't pay more than $100 for a used computer.

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • Mike HankeyM Mike Hankey

            JimmyRopes 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]

            J Offline
            J Offline
            JimmyRopes
            wrote on last edited by
            #27

            Mike Hankey wrote:

            Yeah back then I didn't have a problem remembering things!

            I hear you. :(( These days I am lucky if I remember what I had for lunch. Of course on the weekend it is easy, tiquilla. :-D

            Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
            Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
            I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes

            Mike HankeyM 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • Mike HankeyM Mike Hankey

              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]

              L Offline
              L Offline
              Lost User
              wrote on last edited by
              #28

              No, you must be mistaken. NOP was C4, at least on my CDP1802. But I liked the SEX instruction (Sets the value of the CPU's X register, designating one of the 16 general purpose registers to be the stack pointer). That would have been EN, with N being the number of the register.

              "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 HankeyM 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • Mike HankeyM Mike Hankey

                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]

                M Offline
                M Offline
                Mladen Jankovic
                wrote on last edited by
                #29

                Mike Hankey wrote:

                NOP = 0x00

                Are we still talking about 6502?

                [Genetic Algorithm Library]

                Mike HankeyM 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • L Lost User

                  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

                  J Offline
                  J Offline
                  JimmyRopes
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #30

                  CDP1802 wrote:

                  Self modifying code was very common, but already then considered a sinister hack

                  It is what kept you up at night when you had to modify something you coded six months before. These days I have a rule of thumb; code like the person that is going to maintain your code is a psycopath who knows where you live.

                  Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
                  Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
                  I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes

                  Mike HankeyM 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • Mike HankeyM Mike Hankey

                    No 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]

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #31

                    An Altair :) Great, they came as kits as well and had no graphics at all.

                    "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 HankeyM 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • L Lost User

                      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

                      M Offline
                      M Offline
                      Mladen Jankovic
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #32

                      CDP1802 wrote:

                      The same fanboys who usually put up the effort to write emulators?

                      I promise that I'll try to write one if I ever get in the possesion of working one :)

                      [Genetic Algorithm Library]

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • M Mladen Jankovic

                        Mike Hankey wrote:

                        NOP = 0x00

                        Are we still talking about 6502?

                        [Genetic Algorithm Library]

                        Mike HankeyM Offline
                        Mike HankeyM Offline
                        Mike Hankey
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #33

                        Sorry lost my head was stuck on the ATMega328p that I've been working with. BRK = 0x00 :-O

                        If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

                        M 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • L Lost User

                          An Altair :) Great, they came as kits as well and had no graphics at all.

                          "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 HankeyM Offline
                          Mike HankeyM Offline
                          Mike Hankey
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #34

                          CDP1802 wrote:

                          An Altair Smile Great, they came as kits as well and had no graphics at all.

                          Just lights and switches.

                          If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

                          L 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • Mike HankeyM Mike Hankey

                            Sorry lost my head was stuck on the ATMega328p that I've been working with. BRK = 0x00 :-O

                            If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

                            M Offline
                            M Offline
                            Mladen Jankovic
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #35

                            :laugh:

                            [Genetic Algorithm Library]

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • Mike HankeyM Mike Hankey

                              CDP1802 wrote:

                              Self modifying code was very common, but already then considered a sinister hack

                              Agreed. I never used it always found other ways to do things but it was something to learn that day and it got us work. One of the EE's came by and saw what we were doing and got us to do a simple job based on it.

                              If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

                              L Offline
                              L Offline
                              Lost User
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #36

                              On second thought - this is a good way to throw decompilers or debuggers off the track. Great for security protection, but hard to implement safely with so many different CPUs around.

                              "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

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • L Lost User

                                No, you must be mistaken. NOP was C4, at least on my CDP1802. But I liked the SEX instruction (Sets the value of the CPU's X register, designating one of the 16 general purpose registers to be the stack pointer). That would have been EN, with N being the number of the register.

                                "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 HankeyM Offline
                                Mike HankeyM Offline
                                Mike Hankey
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #37

                                It's been 30 yrs and I've been learning AVR assembler lately so that came out instead. :-O

                                If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

                                L 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • L Lost User

                                  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

                                  L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #38

                                  Too true! :thumbsup:

                                  I must get a clever new signature for 2011.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • L Lost User

                                    That's an emotional value, and future generations might not share our sentiments.

                                    I are Troll :suss:

                                    L Offline
                                    L Offline
                                    Lost User
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #39

                                    Exactly my point.

                                    I must get a clever new signature for 2011.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • J JimmyRopes

                                      Mike Hankey wrote:

                                      Yeah back then I didn't have a problem remembering things!

                                      I hear you. :(( These days I am lucky if I remember what I had for lunch. Of course on the weekend it is easy, tiquilla. :-D

                                      Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
                                      Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
                                      I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes

                                      Mike HankeyM Offline
                                      Mike HankeyM Offline
                                      Mike Hankey
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #40

                                      JimmyRopes wrote:

                                      Of course on the weekend it is easy, tiquilla.

                                      My drink of choice...along with Mezcal, love that worm.

                                      If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

                                      J 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • Mike HankeyM Mike Hankey

                                        JimmyRopes wrote:

                                        Of course on the weekend it is easy, tiquilla.

                                        My drink of choice...along with Mezcal, love that worm.

                                        If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

                                        J Offline
                                        J Offline
                                        JimmyRopes
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #41

                                        Mike Hankey wrote:

                                        My drink of choice...along with Mezcal

                                        Wow you are hard core. I usually back up a shot of tiquilla with a :beer:. :laugh:

                                        Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
                                        Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
                                        I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes

                                        Mike HankeyM 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • J JimmyRopes

                                          CDP1802 wrote:

                                          Self modifying code was very common, but already then considered a sinister hack

                                          It is what kept you up at night when you had to modify something you coded six months before. These days I have a rule of thumb; code like the person that is going to maintain your code is a psycopath who knows where you live.

                                          Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
                                          Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
                                          I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes

                                          Mike HankeyM Offline
                                          Mike HankeyM Offline
                                          Mike Hankey
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #42

                                          It is what kept you up at night drove you crazy when you had to modify something you coded six months before. FTFY

                                          JimmyRopes wrote:

                                          code like the person that is going to maintain your code is a psycopath who knows where you live.

                                          He is and he does. :)

                                          If you keep doing what you been doing you'll keep getting what you been getting http://www.hq4thmarinescomm.com[^] [My Site]

                                          R H 2 Replies Last reply
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