Mine is a mess. I'm over-represented in physically large systems and am finding that projects are getting in the way of other projects. So, my to do list is focused on freeing up space and completing projects in the order that will maximize the space available for other projects. With that in mind:
#1 is the Commodore PET 4016, with 8050 FDD. I'm hoping for a quick win on this one: I need to do the eraser trick again on the keyboard PCB, a little more forcefully this time. Then it's a matter of cleaning and lubing the FDD, making some disks with a ZoomFloppy (which I have) and seeing where that leads. If I can get that done, in a weekend or two, it can go either downstairs or to my study (I think I might like having a PET in my study) freeing up space for the HP 7937 HDDs, as it's currently on the only cart that I trust to bear their weight.
#2 will be the IBM 5110. I'm pretty sure that I have this working, with the replacement display board from the ebay seller who shall not be named. I do have some extra Read/Write Storage that I need to add, then clean and lube the 5114 floppy drive and try it out, with the disks that Chuck kindly made for me. In a perfect world, I'd then turn my attention to the 5103 printer. That may happen but, if it looks like too much of a time suck, it might get put on hold. The system would move into storage, giving me room to maneuver around...
#3 the pdp11/34. There's a lot to do, here. I have to pull boards, catalog backplanes and transplant one of them, possibly recap a power supply and that's before I get any of it into a rack. But it's my biggest bang for my buck in terms of creating space, because it will not only get one chassis and an RX02 into a rack that's already occupying floor space, but also get me to where I can sell off the other two chassis, power supplies, backplanes and boards, freeing up a lot of shelf space. I anticipate this taking weeks or months, by which time...
#4 the two HP HP 1000/A900s, with 7937 HDDs wil have been languishing in my storage for far too long. I think I'm going to keep the rack, but it can stay in storage until the kit has been gone over and is ready for mounting. The goal here will be to test both systems, mount and keep one and sell the other - either as a set or individually. How the hell do you ship an HP 7937? Crate it and freight it?
#5 With some floor space recovered and access gained to the IBM DisplayWriters and printers that are hogging shelf space, I absolutely must start rotating them across my bench. I'd like to get one system running, maybe even with UCSD PASCAL, but it might come down to minimal testing of the rest and selling it off. Yes, I own at least three configurations of DW, but I'm never going to have them all running simultaneously and I wouldn't have space to do that anyway.
That's all the big stuff that features in my short to medium term plans. Another unpleasant but necessary task is going to be abandoning some projects and selling them off. I've already resigned myself to doing that with the Apple IIe based Spirometer and I need to start culling other projects and/or hoards. For example, I now have an actual micro pdp11 in a rack with an RL02, along with a microVAX II, so the two 11/73s that I was going to build cases and power supplies etc. for become projects that I can't justify continuing. I should maybe keep them until I get to the new systems, in case I need the parts, but that's it. One obstacle to the grand cull is that I have smaller stuff mixed up all over the place, so...
#6 will be to use the space that I gain via 1 through 5 to collate all the bits and pieces in separate areas. I made a start on that, last year, with tentative Apple, IBM and Commodore areas, but there's still a lot to do. Once it's done, though, again it will be some testing, some playing with, a little (yeah, right!) bit of keeping and selling of the rest.
All of this assumes that I don't buy anything else over the year, which is unlikely. My brother in law is holding a PET 2001 for me, that I bought last year and I'm chasing an IBM midrange system - even though I don't know why. I sold my two AS/400s because I'd had my fun with them and IBM can be a bit scary when it comes to licensing. It also assumes that I won't play with any other toys, which is unpossible. There's an HP 86B demanding my attention as I type this. Not to mention the pdp11 in a rack with an RL02, along with a microVAX II, referred to above. But, I figure I've planned out about a half a year's worth of effort, which should accommodate the same amount of slippage.
So, that's my vintage computing to do list for 2018. What does yours look like?
#1 is the Commodore PET 4016, with 8050 FDD. I'm hoping for a quick win on this one: I need to do the eraser trick again on the keyboard PCB, a little more forcefully this time. Then it's a matter of cleaning and lubing the FDD, making some disks with a ZoomFloppy (which I have) and seeing where that leads. If I can get that done, in a weekend or two, it can go either downstairs or to my study (I think I might like having a PET in my study) freeing up space for the HP 7937 HDDs, as it's currently on the only cart that I trust to bear their weight.
#2 will be the IBM 5110. I'm pretty sure that I have this working, with the replacement display board from the ebay seller who shall not be named. I do have some extra Read/Write Storage that I need to add, then clean and lube the 5114 floppy drive and try it out, with the disks that Chuck kindly made for me. In a perfect world, I'd then turn my attention to the 5103 printer. That may happen but, if it looks like too much of a time suck, it might get put on hold. The system would move into storage, giving me room to maneuver around...
#3 the pdp11/34. There's a lot to do, here. I have to pull boards, catalog backplanes and transplant one of them, possibly recap a power supply and that's before I get any of it into a rack. But it's my biggest bang for my buck in terms of creating space, because it will not only get one chassis and an RX02 into a rack that's already occupying floor space, but also get me to where I can sell off the other two chassis, power supplies, backplanes and boards, freeing up a lot of shelf space. I anticipate this taking weeks or months, by which time...
#4 the two HP HP 1000/A900s, with 7937 HDDs wil have been languishing in my storage for far too long. I think I'm going to keep the rack, but it can stay in storage until the kit has been gone over and is ready for mounting. The goal here will be to test both systems, mount and keep one and sell the other - either as a set or individually. How the hell do you ship an HP 7937? Crate it and freight it?
#5 With some floor space recovered and access gained to the IBM DisplayWriters and printers that are hogging shelf space, I absolutely must start rotating them across my bench. I'd like to get one system running, maybe even with UCSD PASCAL, but it might come down to minimal testing of the rest and selling it off. Yes, I own at least three configurations of DW, but I'm never going to have them all running simultaneously and I wouldn't have space to do that anyway.
That's all the big stuff that features in my short to medium term plans. Another unpleasant but necessary task is going to be abandoning some projects and selling them off. I've already resigned myself to doing that with the Apple IIe based Spirometer and I need to start culling other projects and/or hoards. For example, I now have an actual micro pdp11 in a rack with an RL02, along with a microVAX II, so the two 11/73s that I was going to build cases and power supplies etc. for become projects that I can't justify continuing. I should maybe keep them until I get to the new systems, in case I need the parts, but that's it. One obstacle to the grand cull is that I have smaller stuff mixed up all over the place, so...
#6 will be to use the space that I gain via 1 through 5 to collate all the bits and pieces in separate areas. I made a start on that, last year, with tentative Apple, IBM and Commodore areas, but there's still a lot to do. Once it's done, though, again it will be some testing, some playing with, a little (yeah, right!) bit of keeping and selling of the rest.
All of this assumes that I don't buy anything else over the year, which is unlikely. My brother in law is holding a PET 2001 for me, that I bought last year and I'm chasing an IBM midrange system - even though I don't know why. I sold my two AS/400s because I'd had my fun with them and IBM can be a bit scary when it comes to licensing. It also assumes that I won't play with any other toys, which is unpossible. There's an HP 86B demanding my attention as I type this. Not to mention the pdp11 in a rack with an RL02, along with a microVAX II, referred to above. But, I figure I've planned out about a half a year's worth of effort, which should accommodate the same amount of slippage.
So, that's my vintage computing to do list for 2018. What does yours look like?
