Defiant1Dave
Member
After spending the last few months working once again with my old IBMs, I've become concerned with the ultimate loss of vintage computing due to attrition. In just the last two weeks I've experienced several major failures of hardware due to their advanced age.
First, I lost the "B" drive of my IBM 5150. It didn't die suddenly, but rather started acting freaky, then finally gave up the ghost on a Tuesday afternoon. Next, my 9" b&W VGA blew out. The HV power supply cooked itself.... and that was that. Finally today, my junk-box server failed to boot. After spending some time working on the problem, it appears that the FDD controler is kaput..... or the bios is corrupted..... or it's just dead. I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out tomorrow, I guess.
Anyway..... all of this has made me wonder about the sustainability of "Vintage Computing" as an avocation. As more and more of our cool old machines wear out, with no new parts being made anywhere in the world, the more difficult it will become to keep the remaining units operable. Unlike the "Vintage Automobile" hobby, there is not an unlimited supply of IBM 5150 parts available..... and even fewer for many other machines. I know in my case, if the current rate of attrition continues much longer, I'll soon have no operable machines at all! AAAAKKKK!!!!!!
The same situation exists with software, too. As our disks crash, and our floppies get corrupted, we as a group are losing much of what makes Vintage Computing fun.
So...what are my options?
1. First, I can just use my machines and repair them as long as I can until they finally all die of old age. I don't like that idea. The cost of parts is already very high, and will only go higher. Eventually, probably in the next decade, they will not be available at any cost.
2. I can park all of the old machines, and use emmulators running on modern equipment . I don't like that idea either, since no matter how you go about it you still have a new machine...... with it's faster processor, lots of memory, and modern operating system to fall back on. That is not really the same. I mean... a mouse click on a folder is not the same as typing "c:\bc7u\bin\qbx" now is it?
OR
3. I can use a more modern computer..... maybe a discarded PII or PIII machine....and totally reconfigure it to "mid-1980's" specifications. (there are LOTS of old PIII's out there to be played with) Instead of using an emmulator, I'm talking about "de-tuning" the computer itself in order to mimick an XT or AT operationally. This would mean installing the mimimum amount of memory, a small HDD formatted in FAT 16, and seriously UNDER-clocking the processor..... then installing it into an interesting case. For an OS, I'm thinking DOS 3.2 so it'll recognize the 1.4 floppy drive. As far as expansion cards go.... maybe a VGA, Serial/ Parallel Card, and precious little else. NO USB ports, or plug and play, or anything else that was not in circulation in 1986. No Windows, Win98, or XP.... or WIFI or Ethernet.....just a minimalist computer that runs very similar to our old IBMs. Of course it will still be faster and more reliable than my aging 5150 and 5140's..... but I'm sure I can get it VERY close to the feel of the originals.
I like that idea..... especially since I've got a couple of old Pentium III machines in the closet left over from my overclocking days. (now that's an odd twist, ain't it?). I may set one of them up to boot directly to BASICA..... just for the heck of it!
I know that may sound like heresy to many of you purists out there.... I know: A PIII machine will never feel just like a 5150. BUT I can make it close enough so that only a real expert could tell the difference at the keyboard..... and that will help prevent using up the valuable old originals.
First, I lost the "B" drive of my IBM 5150. It didn't die suddenly, but rather started acting freaky, then finally gave up the ghost on a Tuesday afternoon. Next, my 9" b&W VGA blew out. The HV power supply cooked itself.... and that was that. Finally today, my junk-box server failed to boot. After spending some time working on the problem, it appears that the FDD controler is kaput..... or the bios is corrupted..... or it's just dead. I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out tomorrow, I guess.
Anyway..... all of this has made me wonder about the sustainability of "Vintage Computing" as an avocation. As more and more of our cool old machines wear out, with no new parts being made anywhere in the world, the more difficult it will become to keep the remaining units operable. Unlike the "Vintage Automobile" hobby, there is not an unlimited supply of IBM 5150 parts available..... and even fewer for many other machines. I know in my case, if the current rate of attrition continues much longer, I'll soon have no operable machines at all! AAAAKKKK!!!!!!
The same situation exists with software, too. As our disks crash, and our floppies get corrupted, we as a group are losing much of what makes Vintage Computing fun.
So...what are my options?
1. First, I can just use my machines and repair them as long as I can until they finally all die of old age. I don't like that idea. The cost of parts is already very high, and will only go higher. Eventually, probably in the next decade, they will not be available at any cost.
2. I can park all of the old machines, and use emmulators running on modern equipment . I don't like that idea either, since no matter how you go about it you still have a new machine...... with it's faster processor, lots of memory, and modern operating system to fall back on. That is not really the same. I mean... a mouse click on a folder is not the same as typing "c:\bc7u\bin\qbx" now is it?
OR
3. I can use a more modern computer..... maybe a discarded PII or PIII machine....and totally reconfigure it to "mid-1980's" specifications. (there are LOTS of old PIII's out there to be played with) Instead of using an emmulator, I'm talking about "de-tuning" the computer itself in order to mimick an XT or AT operationally. This would mean installing the mimimum amount of memory, a small HDD formatted in FAT 16, and seriously UNDER-clocking the processor..... then installing it into an interesting case. For an OS, I'm thinking DOS 3.2 so it'll recognize the 1.4 floppy drive. As far as expansion cards go.... maybe a VGA, Serial/ Parallel Card, and precious little else. NO USB ports, or plug and play, or anything else that was not in circulation in 1986. No Windows, Win98, or XP.... or WIFI or Ethernet.....just a minimalist computer that runs very similar to our old IBMs. Of course it will still be faster and more reliable than my aging 5150 and 5140's..... but I'm sure I can get it VERY close to the feel of the originals.
I like that idea..... especially since I've got a couple of old Pentium III machines in the closet left over from my overclocking days. (now that's an odd twist, ain't it?). I may set one of them up to boot directly to BASICA..... just for the heck of it!
I know that may sound like heresy to many of you purists out there.... I know: A PIII machine will never feel just like a 5150. BUT I can make it close enough so that only a real expert could tell the difference at the keyboard..... and that will help prevent using up the valuable old originals.