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Imsai vdp-80

new_castle_j

Experienced Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Messages
318
Location
Texas, USA
I've got an IMSAI VDP-80 with the Persci 8" drives and a few boot disks and software for it. Cosmetically it's got some scratches and small chips in the case. Judging from the thickness of the dust on it, its probably been sitting at least 20 years.

I'm wondering if this machine is anything special. Should I leave it un-disturbed in it's original condition or should I fiddle with it? The case design is cool looking, maybe it would be interesting to put different guts in it. From what I understand they were horrible machines when new, are they interesting to collectors or are they like the Yugo of vintage computers?
 
I would say, yes they're interesting, afaik they're pretty rare. On the other hand, rare doesn't necessarily mean valuable. Maybe others an chime in?

You could list it on the "for sale" section here and see if you get any offers.

If, for whatever reason, you decide to gut it - don't toss the stuff inside since that is (afaik) standard S100 boards and those can be re-used.
 
Hi All;

Any and all Imsai's are worth keeping..
"" From what I understand they were horrible machines when new, are they interesting to collectors or are they like the Yugo of vintage computers? "" I would say no, any S-100 machine are Great machines for their time.. Sure that are not the same as the later newer processors and machines that we have now, nor would I expect them to be..

THANK YOU Marty
 
Imsai

Imsai

Hi All;

Any and all Imsai's are worth keeping..
"" From what I understand they were horrible machines when new, are they interesting to collectors or are they like the Yugo of vintage computers? "" I would say no, any S-100 machine are Great machines for their time.. Sure that are not the same as the later newer processors and machines that we have now, nor would I expect them to be..

THANK YOU Marty

I would have to agree with Marty. ANY IMSAI is worth keeping. The IMSAI 8080, although mistakenly maligned by the Altair bunch, wasn't really the first "clone" S100 machine - It was the first S100 machine made to "higher-than-hobbyist" standards.

>The backplane was uni-body (one piece)
>The PS was WAY more powerful
>The Front Panel was better
>The case was better
>The interconnects were kept to a minimum

So, your VDP-80 is not quite as desirable as the I8080 (because of history), but it's a nice machine that many would like to own for their collection...

gwk
 
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