Subject: Re: Newman Computer Exchange

From: [email-masked] (Meg Geddes)
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 1994 18:14:27 -0400 (EDT)

->
->I was in Dexter, Michigan, the day before yesterday, so I stopped by
->Newman Computer Exchange to see what they had.  They still do have
->some PDP-8 parts in hand, here is the list:

Actually, they're now called "The Newman Group".

->They say that they have large quantities of some of these items available,
->I'd guess, leftovers from DEC's fire sale on PDP-8 Omnibus boards.  I took
->the time to translate the board numbers and option names they listed to
->the more complete descriptions given above, but some of the things they
->have I don't know (G8016 G8018 MS8CB MS8DJ).

Heh, yea, I bought all the remaining PDP8 gear when I was with Newman back
in the early 80's, when DEC was trying to unload it all.

The G8016 and G8018 are both power supplies for PDP8A's - the 16 being the
one compatible with MOS memory, and the 18 being necessary to run core.

The MS8CB is a 32k MOS memory, and the MS8DJ is a 128k board (MOS).

->still be useful.  The E-mail address of the salesperson I talked to is
->[email-masked], and the phone number is 313-426-0705.

Narda Hyter.

->the surplus market.  In my opinion, these high prices will remain
->justified as long as there are PDP-8 systems in production applications.
->Just a few weeks ago, for example, I talked to someone who was nursing a

heh - after a while, you know, this stuff is no longer old - it's antique.

-- 
Meg Geddes     <No admitted affiliation with anything>     Ann Arbor, MI
[email-masked]

<I have PMS and root password.  Don't mess with me.>

---

From: "Douglas W. Jones" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 94 09:47:42 CDT

I was in Dexter, Michigan, the day before yesterday, so I stopped by
Newman Computer Exchange to see what they had.  They still do have
some PDP-8 parts in hand, here is the list:

M882    DK8EA   Real Time Clock (Line Frequency)

M8316   DKC8AA  PDP-8/A I/O serial/parallel/clock (hex wide)

G8016

G8018

.       KC8AA   PDP-8/A Programmer's Console

M8340?  KE8EA   Extended arithmetic element
M8341?  KE8EA   Extended arithmetic element

M8315   KK8A    PDP-8/A CPU board (hex wide)

M8319   KL8A    PDP-8/A 4 channel serial I/O

M8655   KL8JA   Terminal Control (UART based substitute for M8650)

M8653   KL8M    Modem Control, used with KL8* to provide data ready stuff

M8317   KM8AA   PDP-8/A bootstrap, powerfail (hex wide)

M837    KM8E    Extended Memory and Time Share Control

M848    KP8E    Power fail and auto-restart

M8416   KT8AA   PDP8A Memory Management (hex wide)

M847    MI8E    Hardware Bootstrap Loader

        MS8CB

        MS8DJ

M8433   RL8A    Disk controller for RL01/02 (hex wide)

They say that they have large quantities of some of these items available,
I'd guess, leftovers from DEC's fire sale on PDP-8 Omnibus boards.  I took
the time to translate the board numbers and option names they listed to
the more complete descriptions given above, but some of the things they
have I don't know (G8016 G8018 MS8CB MS8DJ).

Anyway, this is far from a complete assortment of PDP-8 stuff, but it may
still be useful.  The E-mail address of the salesperson I talked to is
[email-masked], and the phone number is 313-426-0705.

I've heard comments about the outrageous prices that places like DEC and
Newman are charging for obsolete boards you can get for loose change on
the surplus market.  In my opinion, these high prices will remain
justified as long as there are PDP-8 systems in production applications.
Just a few weeks ago, for example, I talked to someone who was nursing a
PDP-8/E system that's running part of a nuclear reactor.  I gather that
any change in the control system requires dealing with the nuclear
regulatory and licencing bureaucracy, and it's far more effective to
nurse an antique, paying through the nose for parts, than to get any
change approved.
					Doug Jones
					[email-masked]