Nice 5155

[Agent Orange]

This 5155 is on Craig's List in the Detroit metro area, but seems to be actually in Ann Arbor, MI. You'll have to contact the owner for the particulars. Doesn't say whether or not he would ship.

https://annarbor.craigslist.org/sys/...216239885.html

[VERAULT]

Looks nice and complete. I wonder what that little dongle hanging off the card goes to.

[jafir]

Looks nice and complete. I wonder what that little dongle hanging off the card goes to.

Perhaps something happened to the internal monitor connection, or that's not an IBM CGA card, so they needed to get the monitor input?

[Trixter]

That's a fair price for a complete working 5155. I hope it's picked up by someone.

[ibmapc]

Something's not right with that thing.

1. The monitor should be amber.
2. There is a hole in the back where expansion slots 6, 7, 8 should be.
3. Why is it booting to basic? Either the A drive doesn't work or the seller doesn't know to put a boot disk in it.

I would not by one that has been modified like that!

[VERAULT]

Your right! It should be Amber.

[jafir]

Interesting. That could explain that cable plugged into the RCA jack.

[Agent Orange]

Something's not right with that thing.

1. The monitor should be amber.
2. There is a hole in the back where expansion slots 6, 7, 8 should be.
3. Why is it booting to basic? Either the A drive doesn't work or the seller doesn't know to put a boot disk in it.

I would not by one that has been modified like that!

I'm not at all familiar with the 5155. Is it not possible that the amber CRT was simply replaced somewhere down the line? My eyes are not what they used to be, but I'm having a problem locating that 'hole'. Also, rather than dinging the seller's 5155 and treating it as a pariah, why not contact him for an explanation. Maybe it's not for the 'purist', but I'm thinking that there are plenty of IBM people out that would like to have that unit. It appears to be all in one piece and working. Not taking side - just an observation,

[ibmapc]

...Is it not possible that the amber CRT was simply replaced somewhere down the line?

yup. If it's not original, it's not "complete". I also don't like seeing them with the floppy drives switched out(Not the case here. Just sayin').

My eyes are not what they used to be, but I'm having a problem locating that 'hole'...,

00C0C_2RwwWhvd2Fy_0CI0lM_1200x900_LI (5).jpg
Looks like they made a storage compartment.

[Eudimorphodon]

[*]Why is it booting to basic? Either the A drive doesn't work or the seller doesn't know to put a boot disk in it.

It's on BASIC in one of the pictures, but in another it's at the MS-DOS prompt.

I don't want to be the guy that pulls the usually-false-alarm "RARE PROTOTYPE!" lever, but what the heck is with that hole on the back? If it's a homemade modification they went to great lengths to do it, because it's clearly not a crude modification of the "original" 8-slot backplane, it's a completely new piece with only five slots in it, and it otherwise looks professionally fabricated. Also notice that there's no IBM manufacturing sticker under the power switch/jack, nor that bar code sticker with the serial number.

It also seems to be missing the IBM nameplate under the handle. Compare:

00h0h_4rfkLhhwfm5_0CI0lM_1200x900.jpg

With:



ibm-5155-portable-xt-8088-personal-computer-as-is-2.39__88644.1490085279.jpg

Shouldn't there be an IBM badge in the upper right-hand corner?

There's something special about that unit, and I don't think it's because someone hacked it after the fact.