• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here
  • From now on we will require that a prefix is set for any items in the sales area. We have created regions and locations for this. We also require that you select a delivery option before posting your listing. This will hopefully help us streamline the things that get listed for sales here and help local people better advertise their items, especially for local only sales. New sales rules are also coming, so stay tuned.

Looking for some vintage computers (long wishlist)

Hi,

Thanks for your mail. H-100 and Z-100 are both interesting. I still wait for offers on ebay. If you decide to sell one of yours please let me know.

BTW: Beside my other S-100 computers I got a nice S-100 system from IMS (later IMSAI). So far I could not get any information about it.
On the front is written 1600 series. On the back model 5X-00/50 from IMS. It is fully loaded with controller cards, 2 hard drives and 2 floppy disks. Processor board got the ZILOG Z80.
I added some pictures. Maybe you or someone else know this one.
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=7A908052151A99EA!1818&authkey=!AELSIfDuy8SQKuw&ithint=folder%2c

Achim
 
I will keep it in mind, though at this time I have no intention of selling any of them, as I like having spares. :) I hope you find one though, they are incredible machines. Even more so if you can get a full set of the documentation for them! I still need to get copies of the ROM listing, both digital and paper, as I intend to build one of the SD/IDE cards created by some of the other members of this forum, and would love to have access to the monitor code!

That IMS is pretty cool! Not anything I am personally familiar with, but I imagine someone here likely can help. I would actually recommend posting a separate thread on it, in the S100 section, as that might attract more attention from people who are much more knowledgeable than I am about such systems.
 
Hi Achim,

Thx for writing back! By the way, if you are German (Deutsch), you speak (or at least write) English VERY WELL! Are you an "Achim" or a "Joachim"??

Ich habe 5 Jahre Deutschunterricht und in den 1970er Jahren lebte ich in Hamburg für ein Jahr oder so, die sich für DW-RADIO ...

****I will start taking Pics of the equipment, and move to PM for you ASAP.****

P.S. Yes, it should be fun living on board our boat (a 55ft sloop)--we will be taking it twice a year up and down the West Coast of the US-from Vancouver to Los Angeles. But it's gonna be cramped compared to living in a house!

GriffK
 
BTW: Beside my other S-100 computers I got a nice S-100 system from IMS (later IMSAI). So far I could not get any information about it.
Click to expand...

Nope. IMS is "Industrial Micro Systems, Inc." formerly of Orange County. Herb has a web page giving some detail. Not related at all to IMSAI, which continues to exist as the Fischer-Freitas company, after its bankruptcy under Computerland's Bill Millard.
 
achimhb said:
Beside my other S-100 computers I got a nice S-100 system from IMS (later IMSAI). So far I could not get any information about it.On the front is written 1600 series. On the back model 5X-00/50 from IMS. It is fully loaded with controller cards, 2 hard drives and 2 floppy disks. Processor board got the ZILOG Z80.
I added some pictures. Maybe you or someone else know this one.
Achim
Click to expand...

I recognize your IMS/LF Technologies machine, it's one of my favorites. They are multi-user multi-processor machines, usually running TurboDOS! I may even have boot disks and documentation for the one pictured. Have you determined if your works? I'd be interested to see what's on the hard disks.
 
Oh, thanks a lot, Chuck(G). After a quick search I could find some 'Industrial Micro Systems' systems but not my 5X-00/50.
BUT now I found documentation for all S-100 cards in the system.
 
Last edited:
Replying to new_castle_j:
I will find out this weekend as I am curious too. First I have to check the power supply and make sure I will not produce just smoke.
Some disks I got with the computer but no documentation so far.
 
Last edited:
Being that your system is branded LF/Tech makes it a later model, after they changed their name from IMS to LF/Tech. The 1600 designates the chassis as a 16 bit system, however I only see 8-bit cards in yours. The 50 in the model name indicates that it was a 5 inch floppy drive chassis. The SX means that it is a small business system (less slots on the motherboard). TurboDOS usually required a login, the default Uname and Password was system/system. Let me know if you need help getting it going, I'm happy to share knowledge.
 
Well, after 7 years it is time to update my wish list. Some thought / wrote it is a joke. No, it wasn’t. One asked why not an Apple-1 was in the list. Now I own original Apple-1 computers and some from the VCF I know, and they know me. My website about my Apple-1 computers. I had 2 of my Apple-1 on display at VCF West.

From my 2015 wish list I own now some AIM-65, any kind of Altair, some Apple II (incl. Some Rev 0), some Apple Lisa 1 and 2, Apple Portable, 2 Datapoint 2200, DEC PDP 8, some Heathkit, IBM 5100, different IMSAI/IMS/Pertec, Kenbak-1 (the only prototype), some KIM-1, some Macintosh 128K etc, MCS-4, a Micral-S (the only one I have ever seen – not a Micral N but still a highlight for me), Minivac, some Northstar Horizon, some Ohio Scientific, Olivetti Programma 101 and 102, some SOL, some Southwest Tech, some Sym-1, Vector-1 etc.

And here is what I am still looking for and after 7 years collecting successful rare items I would say, nothing is impossible.

Cromemco Z-1, Acorn System 1 (Single Board), WANG 700 Calculator, Compucolor 8001, Intercolor 8001 (Intelligent Systems Corp), MCM70, RCA System 00, Poly 88, Sord M170, Ohio Scientific 500, Ohio Scientific Challenger III, WANG 2200A oder B, MOS TIM, Mistral 801, Sphere-1 und der JOLT (not the SuperJolt).

An MCM/70 was sold at auction in March 2022 in Toronto and I had someone bidding for me. But she stopped bidding and it was sold for just under 4k. Unbelievable.

Btw, I have a US address and an address in Germany. For a rare item I can fly to the US and pick it up. I did so already.
 
When I first saw this list 7 years ago, I thought:

tenor.gif


But now I see you're a serious collector with loads of cash and plenty of patience. I don't doubt you'll get everything on your list.
 
I can vouch for Achim, he has a world-class collection of some very important computers. The reason he never asked for Apple-1's, is that he has "several" of these, I think eight. He's gone to great lengths to acquire and preserve important computers.

But he doesn't just collect and hoard computers. He's done original research, including investigating the serial numbers of Apple-1 computers, showing with good certainty they were hand written by Steve Jobs himself. He promotes the love of vintage computers, keeping active in the community, and spreading knowledge and interest. Most important, he documents information online for all to see, preserving information. He has even loaned at least one of his computers to the Munich museum.

If you sell or give him a computer or related collectable, rest assured, it'll be well preserved, documented and shared digitally with the world.

He didn't pay me to say that. He's just a good guy, with a real passion for vintage computers.
 
Oh wow, thank you tejones777.
Patience is indeed most important. Things that were once impossible can still come true.

I did not include in my wish list two even more "impossible" to find computers. Xerox Alto and a Cray-1. Well, I was there when Lonnie Mimms unpacked his Alto in his museum. He even asked me if I could/would help to bring it back to working conditions. And there is a guy in Germany who owns several Cray in a warehouse but so far all begging didn't help.

But believe it or not, the JOLT is the most wanted. I talked several times with Ray Holt but he wants to sell his 2 remaining JOLT only together with his whole collection.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Nope. IMS is "Industrial Micro Systems, Inc." formerly of Orange County. Herb has a web page giving some detail. Not related at all to IMSAI, which continues to exist as the Fischer-Freitas company, after its bankruptcy under Computerland's Bill Millard.
Click to expand...
At one time a rumor was that IMS(AI) stood for I am S, a belief system where they would hold closed session seminars forcing participants to pee themselves and be proud of it (BS I'm sure, but makes a funny story). Their corprate HQ was in San Leandro, Ca on wicks blvd (which much later became a Tandy Service Center). I don't know anything about IMS thou, I apparently have been making that same error IMS = IMSAI. pn On another note: Unfortunately, in 2001 I lost both S-100 systems (one was a Cromemco Z2-D), my multibus system my STD system as well as my collection of SBC's except for my Ampro LB80+ which requires a boot ROM. I now play around with yaze, but is no substitute for actual hardware. I feel sad and nostalgic about that turn of events. Oh, well. Back to my Linux system to crash its filesystem... (F' windows and MS garbage) Long live Linux!!!
 
dustyzebra said:
To Chuck(G) Btw, I love your profile pic of a tape drive!
Click to expand...
I really liked the old CDC 60x drives. Built like tanks and pretty gentle with tapes (vacuum capstans). The 65x drives that superseded them were nowhere near as rugged. The 66x drives, well, I remember spending a week at McClellan AFB holding hands and waiting for Spence Preston to get back from Zurich to debug the controller firmware.
 
Old thread, I know, but I'm guessing @achimhb and @Chuck(G) are still around.

Couldn't help but notice achim's leaving out Apple's PowerPCs from his list. I have one I replaced the PS years ago that I would be happy to ship for cost alone. Yes, it boots and works. If anyone needs details let me know.
 
Yes, I am still here. Thanks for the offer, but the PowerPC is too new for my collection. 9 years after my post I have most of the computers from my wish list, but not all. To make it easy: Any rare computer from the 70's is interesting for me. The only younger computers I am looking for are the crazy rare stuff, like Xerox Alto, Cray computers etc.
 
achimhb said:
May location is Germany. Most computers I got are from the USA and so I know the high shipping fees. But that is the way it is.

Up to 130 lbs is no problem. Beyond needs some work.

So far I got mails teilling me what is not or hard to get. Thanks for the advice. But that is not the reason for my question. I just opened to thread to get in contact to people owning (!) those computers and those willing to sell.

For example Lisa 1, MOS and Commodore KIM-1, several Altair 8800 I already got and for Kenbak-1 I got an offer and going to buy it in September. Nothing is impossible.

At the moment I can only collect personal computers and similar. Next year I will have enough space to store mainframes.

Please write to me if you got vintage computers to sell or if you know someone who would like to sell. I collect computers and preserve it. No replica please.
Click to expand...
Man, the responses to your post are kind of crazy, they are mostly people telling you that what you are looking for is either too hard to find or too expensive to expect to ever obtain, even though this is a forum that is all about people who are interested in and looking for rare and hard to find items, lol. Social media. Anyway, I will do my part to counter the killjoy vibes by saying I admire your quest and I hope you find what you are looking for, and please post some pics of your collection, or at least some of your favorite pieces, there are far too few posts of members sharing photos of pieces from their collections, though I know many simply don't have the time to do so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top