WOW!!!! $15k DEC PDP-8 CLASSIC MINICOMPUTER SYSTEM DIGITAL PDP8

[Vintage Computer Festival]

On Tue, 5 Jul 2005, Dwight K. Elvey wrote:

> >From: "Vintage Computer Festival" <vcf at siconic.com>
> >
> >How many PDP-1's have you seen around?  How many IBM 360's?  There are way
> >more PDP-1's known to still exist than IBM 360's, and there's only a
> >handful of PDP-1's left.  The 360 also has a huge following of historical
> >nuts.
> >
>
> Hi Sellam
>  You have to remember, that machine was in the lease
> days of IBM. They took back their old machines and
> flattened them in a wreaking yard down at Santa Maria.
> I used to look for things like blocks of core memory
> there.

This is my point.  Pat doesn't think an IBM 360 would sell for, say, as
much as $50K.  I agree with him that it may not attract the same sort of
frenzy that a PDP-1 would (it's a different dynamic with IBM old iron
collectors) but considering that they are probably more rare than PDP-1's
(which is ironic considering the IBM 360 sold in the thousands(?) and the
PDP-1 had a run of 50) if one did show up, and it was as complete the
recent PDP-8 sale, then there would be a bidding frenzy like you wouldn't
believe.

I suspected the PDP-8 could fetch as high as $25K, and I still think this
is a valid number.  Bill Maddox actually got one hell of a deal.  A PDP-1
equipped in an equivalent manner would surely fetch at least $25K, and so
would the equivalent IBM 360 system (maybe a decked out 360/20).

I'd be interested in knowing of any complete IBM 360's out in the wild
(i.e. not already in museums).  From what I know, there aren't many, if
any (at least as yet undiscovered) so I'd like to be corrected if I'm
ignorant.

-- 

Sellam Ismail                                        Vintage Computer Festival
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International Man of Intrigue and Danger                http://www.vintage.org

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