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Building a Clone MITS 8800

troj said:
Regarding cases and interface boards, I chatted with Mike a bit when I called to pay for my FDC+.

In a nutshell, he's been in the case business for 10 years now and it's a hobby. It's time to get out of the case business. As someone who's made a hobby into work before, that resonates with me, and I 100% get it.

He did say interface board sets should still be available. Also, he thinks he has one dress panel left, along with the bracket to mount it in a case.

-Kevin
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Unfortunate, but I also 100% get it.

This would seem to mark the end of the Altair 8800c run. Walt's work on designing a wooden box replacement for the 8800c cabinet may fill the gap, but it is far from the "look and feel" of the real thing the 8800c had going for it.
 
hmb said:
This would seem to mark the end of the Altair 8800c run. Walt's work on designing a wooden box replacement for the 8800c cabinet may fill the gap, but it is far from the "look and feel" of the real thing the 8800c had going for it.
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Unless someone else chooses to step up and put forth the time and money that Mike has, I would guess you are correct.

So Walt is working on the 8800d?
 
troj said:
So Walt is working on the 8800d?
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Earlier in this discussion Walt showed photos of a laser-cut wooden box he has designed to house the 8800c front panel board, with enough interior space to accommodate a 9 slot backplane and power supplies. When finished he is going to provide the design files, so the "8800d" will be a DIY project and not a finished product you can buy.
 
hmb said:
Earlier in this discussion Walt showed photos of a laser-cut wooden box he has designed to house the 8800c front panel board, with enough interior space to accommodate a 9 slot backplane and power supplies. When finished he is going to provide the design files, so the "8800d" will be a DIY project and not a finished product you can buy.
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Hi,

I am not planning of laser cutting a parts kit to sell. I will post vector files online so anybody can build themselves a cabinet ... I am working on both wood and sheet metal case designs that can be made at home. The tools for the sheet metal cabinets I think will cost less than $100. Getting access to a laser cutter/engraver isn't impossible with MakerSpaces in most cities. OTOH, this is also something that can be part of an L'Robotorium Shop set in somebody's garage that can rent time/share their tools with their neighbors as a little side business ... something I've been promoting for a few years now with my "RoboGuts™ S.T.E.A.M. Education Program".


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One thing in this vintage computer reproduction area I have noticed. People only have so much time and a certain amount of resources at their disposal to create period correct reproductions, there are limited parts too.

So somebody might only make a certain number of reproduction assemblies or units, and then not be able to economically and practically make any more. Then they might choose to sell some of them to defray costs.

It is tempting to think that when you see something for sale; "I know where I can get that thing, so & so makes that, I might get one later". And it is all taken for granted.

But don't count on that thing always being there when you decide you finally want it. This becomes really obvious when a person buys the last one of that thing from a supplier.
 
Back to the original point of this thread....

I have an FDC+ on order from Mike Douglas. I've also been in touch with Martin Eberhard and will have an 88-2SIOJP board on order; I've got Jameco, Mouser and Digikey orders placed for all the bits needed to assemble the board.

So. Much. Soldering.

-Kevin
 
10 slots * 100 joints = 1000 solder joints!!! I think I did mine in just over an hour!
 
alank2 said:
10 slots * 100 joints = 1000 solder joints!!! I think I did mine in just over an hour!
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Oh, only 9 slots, so 900 on connectors on the backplane. Plus the other components.

I started counting solder joints on the Interface and Interface controller, got dejected and quit counting.

30+ years ago, I bought an 8oz spool of solder at Radio Shack. I thought I'd never finish that spool of solder. I just ordered a spool of solder.

I should do the math, just for the sake of curiosity.

-Kevin
 
troj said:
Oh, only 9 slots, so 900 on connectors on the backplane. Plus the other components.

I started counting solder joints on the Interface and Interface controller, got dejected and quit counting.

30+ years ago, I bought an 8oz spool of solder at Radio Shack. I thought I'd never finish that spool of solder. I just ordered a spool of solder.

I should do the math, just for the sake of curiosity.

-Kevin
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Hi,

It's no big deal to solder up a 9-slot backplane. I've done a half dozen already ... a pro can probably finish one including the buss termination, in a couple of hours. Just the slots only takes about 20-30 minutes.


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wperko said:
It's no big deal to solder up a 9-slot backplane. I've done a half dozen already ... a pro can probably finish one including the buss termination, in a couple of hours. Just the slots only takes about 20-30 minutes.
Click to expand...

Add in the joys of bifocals and tremors in one hand, and things move a bit more slowly. :)

But yeah, someone who solders regularly can definitely do this a lot faster than me!

-Kevin
 
Hi,

Making good progress on these wood cabinets;

The IMSAI-JAIR is probably the final design ... I have the files tweaked to make assembly quick 'n easy, yet a plenty strong cabinet. I did some stain tests and I will do a little more before I do the final staining on this cabinet. I'm thinking MINWAX GUNSTOCK 231 might be the final choice for the computers. I tried the lighter stain MINWAX GOLDEN OAK 210B, but it looks too faded yellow.

1707848532298.png


You can see I will need to pull the LEDs and replace them with LEDs sticking through the wooden front panel. I still haven't glued the card edge connectors in place, that will be done when I tweak the cuts for the boards to fit a little looser. I thought about add some legs, but I don't think they're needed. Wood glue is pretty strong.

1707848576503.png


The MINWAX GUNSTOCK 231 stain on the Oak wood ... it looks really nice!

1707848614058.png


1707848656343.png


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Time for more soldering! The 88-2SIOJP board arrived today; most of the parts have arrived already.

IMG_2326.jpg
 
I didn't realize you can buy the bare PCB. Mike's website doesn't indicate that (that I could see).
 
wrljet said:
I didn't realize you can buy the bare PCB. Mike's website doesn't indicate that (that I could see).
Click to expand...

It's now the only way the board is offered - I think it's a fairly recent change.

The board comes w/ a couple chips that are getting hard to find, along with the EPROM. The manual contains a complete BOM that can be used to source the rest of the components.

-Kevin
 
troj said:
It's now the only way the board is offered - I think it's a fairly recent change.

The board comes w/ a couple chips that are getting hard to find, along with the EPROM. The manual contains a complete BOM that can be used to source the rest of the components.

-Kevin
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Hi,

I have tons of 2732 and 2764 EPROMs ...

I have about sixty 2732 and hundred and thirty 2764 I can sell 10x for $10 + 10 S&H in the USA ...

I may build one more 88-2SIOJP board ... that means I need to buy a couple of chips I don't already have in my stash, but if the MDS RAM/PROM board pans out, then that maybe a good replacement along with the reproduction MITS 88-2SIO boards.


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I'm finally getting back to this.

Since there was discussion on the 8800 cases Mike Douglas was selling, Adwater & Stir will soon be selling the cases previously sold by Mike.

Also, for those of you who've built 8800c systems using the Meanwell power supplies, I'd love to see pictures of how you mounted and wired them. I'm starting to plan that out, as that's my next step.

-Kevin
 
Hi,

After you fit your backplane into position, then you can look to see where you can mount the Mean-Wells standing up so the screwdriver adjustments are facing up to make it easy to adjust as you change or add boards. I would suggest to the left side of the cabinet a couple of mm from the side and even spaced between the front panel board and back connectors. All the wiring can usually be made neat and safe from there.


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