Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
I would have loved that!!
All I got was a stinkin' 'ELECTRONIC DIGITAL COMPUTER'
Hopefully you would have used the Atomic Energy wisely. Or, it was practice for your DeLorean!
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Old farts reminiscing about computers
- Thread starter HankLloydRight
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Hopefully you would have used the Atomic Energy wisely. Or, it was practice for your DeLorean!
OK, you guys got me curious--I dug my 4P out of the garage - still boots 32 years later (off floppy disk, no less):
I see that's from the pre-Zip Code era. Now we're talking' Old Fart Territory!
* Any kit that includes a Wheatstone Bridge is cool, but......an Atomic Energy Lab? Nifty keen-o!
Wow, awesome. Thanks for posting.
In high school we played around with CP/M on the Apple ][s.
ddimit
Member
Built one these as well that membrane kepyad was useless, loved saving a program or reading a program from tape and having it fail halfway through.
Graduated to a C64, Light years ahead of the ZX and a 300 baud modem cartridge to boot
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I had the 150 in one kit upper left corner I credit that with really getting my interest and career in electronics/computers going. Good Times. this lead to My Novice Ham ticket at 13 and My GRO at 18.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
The Atomic Energy Lab consisted of an alpha particle source which was used to make tracks in a cloud chamber built with a plastic jar included in the kit (and dry ice).
I believe that the alpha source was radium which was on a pinhead stuck into a cork. If I recall, it did have a warning of something like "Do not eat".
I don't think you could include this in a science kit today. Science kits were a lot more fun (and dangerous) when I was young.
SW2Fiddler
We Are Cognitive Dissidents
You ain't LIVED until you've hand-wound a Crystal Radio from copper wire and an Oatmeal Box!
Extra life-points for turning a Poster Shipping Tube into a zappalicious Tesla Coil...
Thanks for this thread it really was a nice trip down memory lane for me.
All of these pieces of history sure bring back the memories for me too. My sister bought me the 150 in 1 kit in about 1970 and that is what started my interest in Electronics and is how I decided what career I wanted. I wanted to build that Altair computer so bad, but no money... Then in the fall of 1976 I programmed my first Fortran program in using punch cards and many a late night in the computer center at Purdue. Anyone else ever forget the 7/8/9 card at the end of their deck of cards? CPU time was something like 1 cent per mS and you only had $2 of CPU time for the whole semester. Forget the EOF cards and you overran your account. I eventually programmed in PL/M using a cross complier on the Purdue mainframe and targeting Intel 8085s. One summer job I had was testing for a small business that was converting IBM Selectric typewriters into line printers for the TRS-80 computers. They had designed and built a small box that took the ASCII out of the TRS-80 and converted to IBM codes for the typewriter. Daisy wheel printers were the only other “true type” option in 1980 and they were 2K. the Selectric and box was sold for $695 and we couldn’t build them fast enough- The Selecrics were old worn out I/O terminals off lease that we’d “clean up” and add in the box. Then my first post college job I actually replaced an HP mini computer with a desktop calculator. The technology was moving fast. and still does. While I worked in the industry for 32 years, I never lost interest in computers and electronics like many of my peers did. Eventually I did the PC thing, and when Apple switched to Intel processors I moved over to Mac - Currently in my retirement gig I’m playing with the RaspberryPi. It’s nice, but wow there are a lot of layers of software between you and the hardware. Blinking an LED uses a lot of software. If I were 20 years younger, I would have tried to get a job at Tesla, the technology in the car is great. I’ll bet the folks there work long hours but the reward when they see the product rolling is worth it. I know how I felt the first time one of my projects worked. It didn’t’ matter much that I was being paid, it was just so satisfying.
I have really enjoyed reading everyones experiences.
All of these pieces of history sure bring back the memories for me too. My sister bought me the 150 in 1 kit in about 1970 and that is what started my interest in Electronics and is how I decided what career I wanted. I wanted to build that Altair computer so bad, but no money... Then in the fall of 1976 I programmed my first Fortran program in using punch cards and many a late night in the computer center at Purdue. Anyone else ever forget the 7/8/9 card at the end of their deck of cards? CPU time was something like 1 cent per mS and you only had $2 of CPU time for the whole semester. Forget the EOF cards and you overran your account. I eventually programmed in PL/M using a cross complier on the Purdue mainframe and targeting Intel 8085s. One summer job I had was testing for a small business that was converting IBM Selectric typewriters into line printers for the TRS-80 computers. They had designed and built a small box that took the ASCII out of the TRS-80 and converted to IBM codes for the typewriter. Daisy wheel printers were the only other “true type” option in 1980 and they were 2K. the Selectric and box was sold for $695 and we couldn’t build them fast enough- The Selecrics were old worn out I/O terminals off lease that we’d “clean up” and add in the box. Then my first post college job I actually replaced an HP mini computer with a desktop calculator. The technology was moving fast. and still does. While I worked in the industry for 32 years, I never lost interest in computers and electronics like many of my peers did. Eventually I did the PC thing, and when Apple switched to Intel processors I moved over to Mac - Currently in my retirement gig I’m playing with the RaspberryPi. It’s nice, but wow there are a lot of layers of software between you and the hardware. Blinking an LED uses a lot of software. If I were 20 years younger, I would have tried to get a job at Tesla, the technology in the car is great. I’ll bet the folks there work long hours but the reward when they see the product rolling is worth it. I know how I felt the first time one of my projects worked. It didn’t’ matter much that I was being paid, it was just so satisfying.
I have really enjoyed reading everyones experiences.
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
palmer_md
Member
Anyone else cut their teeth on an Atari 400/800 machine?
Atari 8-bit family - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
We got one for Christmas in 1979 and it was a great start for me in the world of computing. Sat along side our Atari VCS game machine that we got the Christmas before.
Atari 8-bit family - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
We got one for Christmas in 1979 and it was a great start for me in the world of computing. Sat along side our Atari VCS game machine that we got the Christmas before.
ssq
Member
I started with computers at the age of 12, in school, computer lab classes with 4 of us sharing one X-86 IBM PC with 5.5 and 3.5 inch floppy disks. I reminisce my 10 min turn in 40 min sessions (4 students taking turns) - writing down commands on LOGO: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language), making the "turtle" move and plot. When the cursor would plot out super complicated symmetrical figures, resulting from second order equations I had no idea about, I used to be awestruck (MAGIC!!). Then I moved on to BASIC, FORTRAN, PASCAL, COBOL and eventually to C, C++ and now I don't code anymore
I'm 33 and grew up in a third world country, so I had no access to my own machine until I was 20. Does that make me an old fart too ? not that I mind :tongue:
I'm 33 and grew up in a third world country, so I had no access to my own machine until I was 20. Does that make me an old fart too ? not that I mind :tongue:
Skotty
2014 S P85 | 2023 F-150L
Not as far back as some of you, but still fun reminiscing. My first programming experience was probably LOGO in late elementary school; no clue what the computers were. After that I got into programming BASIC on Apple IIs in Junior High (no class, just something to do in Computer Club). At home, my first computer experience was with an IBM 8088, still programming in BASIC. Was gleeful when we finally got a 286 so I could play that tank game. Somewhere in there we have an Apple IIc for awhile, which had some great games for the time like Spy vs Spy. Spent some years after that calling up BBS's on 2400, 14.4K, and 56K modems before the Internet took off; liked playing text based games on the BBS's like Legend of the Red Dragon. Got into Borland Pascal in High School. From there moved into C and C++ in college. After college spent some time doing COBOL believe it or not, and now I mostly do Java development.
My fondest outdated hardware I still keep in my personal archive is a Kenwood TrueX 72x CD-ROM drive. I like quiet machines, and this was the quietest drive I have ever encountered -- it used 7 laser beams to read multiple tracks simultaneously so that it could spin the disks slower. It was whisper silent at all times. I think the drives had some reliability issues though, so it died off, and I've never seen anything else like it in the spinning disk world.
My fondest outdated hardware I still keep in my personal archive is a Kenwood TrueX 72x CD-ROM drive. I like quiet machines, and this was the quietest drive I have ever encountered -- it used 7 laser beams to read multiple tracks simultaneously so that it could spin the disks slower. It was whisper silent at all times. I think the drives had some reliability issues though, so it died off, and I've never seen anything else like it in the spinning disk world.
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Ha ha.. that's my next project!!! I plan on building one of these:
oneTeslaTS: Bach Solfeggietto - YouTube
Over the last two years I've been buying and playing with RGB laser projectors (think "Laser Floyd"). Lots of fun.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
I still have a Radio Shack Daisy wheel printer. Haven't used it in years but it does still work. They were built like tanks (it must weigh 50 pounds). Sounds like a machine gun when it's printing. I believe it cost about $2000 when new. I used it in a business and retired it when HP started making laser printers.
About 18 years ago, I made 15 crystal radio kits for my daughter's 3rd grade class- the kids assembled them and they all worked! I know I inspired at least one kid to become involved in STEM. She'll have a PhD in about 12 months... The best line was the kid that said we could only listen to the radios in the morning because they were AM radios... Had a good laugh about that, and was certainly glad it wasn't my daughter that said that.
JPP
Active Member
...OK, late to the party. I'm 61. As a kid, was building Radio Shack Shortwave radios (...yes, they made kits back then) and Heathkit stuff (built my own VOM). Had fun with home chemistry sets (you know, the ones full of toxic and explosive stuff--would never be allowed out of a biohazard facility now). Remember playing with a Philips electronics kit (discrete components and a breadboard plus instructions to make a radio, amplifier, and the like).
Grew up in the Boston area, which was the 'original' Silicon Valley with highway 128 and the early tech companies there (Wang, Analogic, DEC, etc). Our freshman high school math teacher got DEC to donate an early PDP-8 for a summer science/math class. 4k of core memory, Teletype the only I/O, punch paper tape for programming/storage. Learned Fortran, FOCAL, BASIC, DEC machine language. Did a NSF summer science program sophomore year-assigned to Boston U. where I got to program an IBM 360/40 (filled a football field, washing machine sized hard drives, stacks of Hollerith cards, learned to work a punch card machine and verifier). Junior year began to work at a Bioengineering lab at BU. They acquired a PDP-12 and PDP-15, plus created a computer named Phoenix which rose (...arose out of the ashes...) out of an old Minuteman missile guidance system from the nose cone (all Mil Spec components embedded in epoxy). It needed 400 cycle AC power (...Mil Spec), so separate genamotor in an engineering closet. Lots of home brew projects at the lab, funny terminals (old Texas Instruments thermal 'teletype'), Tektronix stuff (dry silver printer, oscilloscopes, etc). Real hands on 'lab rat' experience. Continued to work at the lab for 8 years (through college into med school)--had a phenomenal mentor (D.Sc. from MIT).
'Dropped out' of the hands on geeky stuff (time limited with med school & residency), but did get a Mac SE in 1985, and have had a series of Macs at home since (...I use Macs at home because I want to, and PCs at work because I have to). Remember paying like $500 to replace one of the 2 floppy drives in the Mac with a 20 Meg (...yes, Meg) hard drive (...and they all called me crazy). Also paid $2500 back then for an early Postscript laser printer.
After trying my hand at surgery (did a couple of years of residency), went into diagnostic radiology, back when it was essentially all analog. Have been through the 'digitalization' of radiology in particular and medicine in general. What goes around comes around. All of that early computer/tech experience now quite useful. I'm the unofficial CIO/CTO of my radiology group. We do have our own IT department to support our network and PACS/RIS systems, but I get consulted daily by my less that technically comfortable colleagues (...you know, the ones who pick up the mouse, hold it to their ear, and say 'Hello'...). Always being asked what the best (fill-in-the-blank) to buy (e.g. smartphone, computer, camera, etc). Standard answer: next year's model. Lots of whining ensues. I tell them that they need to freeze the technology, use and enjoy it, and to not get mad if next year's (or next week's) model is better, faster, cheaper. Same goes for the Model S. My 2013 S85 doesn't have folding mirrors, PDC, autopilot, Alcantara, LTE, etc--and I would not have had 2-1/2 years of motoring enjoyment if I kept waiting. Always amazed at the level of whining here and at TM forums about the continuing updates/improvements (....stay tuned for V.7.0).
Grew up in the Boston area, which was the 'original' Silicon Valley with highway 128 and the early tech companies there (Wang, Analogic, DEC, etc). Our freshman high school math teacher got DEC to donate an early PDP-8 for a summer science/math class. 4k of core memory, Teletype the only I/O, punch paper tape for programming/storage. Learned Fortran, FOCAL, BASIC, DEC machine language. Did a NSF summer science program sophomore year-assigned to Boston U. where I got to program an IBM 360/40 (filled a football field, washing machine sized hard drives, stacks of Hollerith cards, learned to work a punch card machine and verifier). Junior year began to work at a Bioengineering lab at BU. They acquired a PDP-12 and PDP-15, plus created a computer named Phoenix which rose (...arose out of the ashes...) out of an old Minuteman missile guidance system from the nose cone (all Mil Spec components embedded in epoxy). It needed 400 cycle AC power (...Mil Spec), so separate genamotor in an engineering closet. Lots of home brew projects at the lab, funny terminals (old Texas Instruments thermal 'teletype'), Tektronix stuff (dry silver printer, oscilloscopes, etc). Real hands on 'lab rat' experience. Continued to work at the lab for 8 years (through college into med school)--had a phenomenal mentor (D.Sc. from MIT).
'Dropped out' of the hands on geeky stuff (time limited with med school & residency), but did get a Mac SE in 1985, and have had a series of Macs at home since (...I use Macs at home because I want to, and PCs at work because I have to). Remember paying like $500 to replace one of the 2 floppy drives in the Mac with a 20 Meg (...yes, Meg) hard drive (...and they all called me crazy). Also paid $2500 back then for an early Postscript laser printer.
After trying my hand at surgery (did a couple of years of residency), went into diagnostic radiology, back when it was essentially all analog. Have been through the 'digitalization' of radiology in particular and medicine in general. What goes around comes around. All of that early computer/tech experience now quite useful. I'm the unofficial CIO/CTO of my radiology group. We do have our own IT department to support our network and PACS/RIS systems, but I get consulted daily by my less that technically comfortable colleagues (...you know, the ones who pick up the mouse, hold it to their ear, and say 'Hello'...). Always being asked what the best (fill-in-the-blank) to buy (e.g. smartphone, computer, camera, etc). Standard answer: next year's model. Lots of whining ensues. I tell them that they need to freeze the technology, use and enjoy it, and to not get mad if next year's (or next week's) model is better, faster, cheaper. Same goes for the Model S. My 2013 S85 doesn't have folding mirrors, PDC, autopilot, Alcantara, LTE, etc--and I would not have had 2-1/2 years of motoring enjoyment if I kept waiting. Always amazed at the level of whining here and at TM forums about the continuing updates/improvements (....stay tuned for V.7.0).
Back about that time, I remember a company selling a box with an array of solenoid plungers that sat on top of the IBM Selectric keyboard -- one plunger for each key below it.. and the box connected to a computer turning the typewriter into a printer. Pretty low tech, but I'm guessing a pretty cheap solution for makeshift office printers.
I haven't still Old Electronics Stuff (that I can recall), but I do still have my Science Kit, out of which I invented a perpetual motion machine.
It didn't work.
The kit is in my other garage...3,800 miles north of here....if this thread has legs I'll post a pic next spring. Googling pix of "Science Kit" fails to yield anything that old.
It didn't work.
The kit is in my other garage...3,800 miles north of here....if this thread has legs I'll post a pic next spring. Googling pix of "Science Kit" fails to yield anything that old.
I had one of the 'Lectron kits where you could put circuits together just by sticking blocks together magnetically...
Yard Sale Treasures: Lectron Kit
Had chemistry kits too. Won't discuss the "things that go boom" projects.
Yard Sale Treasures: Lectron Kit
Had chemistry kits too. Won't discuss the "things that go boom" projects.
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