Welcome to my vintage computing museum :-)

The title is probably a bit too grandiose but today I picked up a small load of computing equipment that is probably enough to start a computer museum.

A 386, a couple of old Macs, some kind of Zenith Data Systems dinosaur, another one called Heathkit with 2 8" floppy drives!, a couple of monitors, external drives. All this equipment probably has about the same amount of computing power as my new microwave, but boy do I feel lucky.

A nice sampler of computing power from the 70s, 80s and early 90s.

The guy also mentioned that he decided to contact me because of the bunch of "computers wanted" ads he found he liked mine the most. Detailed, polite, etc. Definitely pays off to spend time fine tuning your ads.

The dilemma is that I pretty much ran out of basement space and start too look like a hoarder. It's tempting to simply rip things up, but it would be a travesty without at least trying to
get these machines to work. Now what I need is time to do it all. Do you know where I can get some? :)

Nice collection you have there. I know the 5 1/4 floppies sell well. There was a guy just on here a few days ago asking about old computers. Check the recent posts.

Time for sale $1,000,000 per ounce.

Here is just a little history on Heath from Benton Harbor Mich;

Heathkit Virtual Museum | History

nice score very good money in parts and whole units

Holy cow, there are some great vintage items in there. (I'm a collector.) Any way you could get me a list of what you've got there? (Some better pix would be helpful too, if that's not too big a pain.)

Where did you get this stuff?

Whatever you do, don't take anything apart yet!

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Originally Posted by FLimits

Holy cow, there are some great vintage items in there. (I'm a collector.) Any way you could get me a list of what you've got there? (Some better pix would be helpful too, if that's not too big a pain.)

Where did you get this stuff?

Whatever you do, don't take anything apart yet!

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My plan is to take each piece one by one and at least plug it in and turn it on. It might be a bit hard to fully test functionality since I would need the right floppies for that etc.

As I go through these pieces, I will take detailed photos.

By the way, I tried to PM you but I don't think your account is set up to accept PMs from other members.

I'll check re: PM. I'm a total newbie to this forum, so maybe I didn't set it up yet. Would love to get more info from you about that amazing haul!
It's hard to tell exactly what you've got there, but the Heathkit pieces alone may be very valuable.

Edit: OK, I set up my account to receive PMs. Thanks for letting me know it wasn't on.

Ah there he is, I knew he was around here somewhere....hehe.

Hi, yeah, just got back to the forum today. Nice people here!

OP: A word of caution about really old electronics. If you are familiar with electronics, you might want to open those machines to perform a visual inspection first. In particular, you should verify that the capacitors are intact before you attempt to power them up. If you see anything in there that doesn't look right, just don't try turning the machine on. I've heard stories of people getting hurt when old equipment blew up on them.

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If you see anything in there that doesn't look right, just don't try turning the machine on. I've heard stories of people getting hurt when old equipment blew up on them.

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Can capacitors when they get old can dry out then when power is applied they possibly can explode. Don't know about them hurting you but when one goes off it sure might make you soil your undies,,,,

Soiled undies are an injury, if you ask me! Yeah, usually with oldies it's better to do a thorough inspection of the innards and maybe recap before trying to apply power.

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Originally Posted by FLimits

Soiled undies are an injury, if you ask me! Yeah, usually with oldies it's better to do a thorough inspection of the innards and maybe recap before trying to apply power.

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thanks will remember that. The items are definitely dusty and some are slightly beat up. As I understand they are coming from a hoarder's house although I did not see any roaches or mice jumping out. :)

Well, you met the right hoarder. I've managed to ID all of the pieces in those first photos you posted. What's especially nice is that you have a whole Heathkit/Zenith system there. And it's a really good one. Seriously, that is one awesome haul. Good catch!!

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Originally Posted by FLimits

Well, you met the right hoarder. I've managed to ID all of the pieces in those first photos you posted. What's especially nice is that you have a whole Heathkit/Zenith system there. And it's a really good one. Seriously, that is one awesome haul. Good catch!!

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thanks. Will start with those

I tried to PM you, but it seems I'm not allowed to do that yet. I have a list of what I was able to ID plus prices of sales on eBay, if you're interested, just to give you an idea.

By the way, I noticed you're from Maryland. That's where I grew up!

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Originally Posted by FLimits

I tried to PM you, but it seems I'm not allowed to do that yet. I have a list of what I was able to ID plus prices of sales on eBay, if you're interested, just to give you an idea.

By the way, I noticed you're from Maryland. That's where I grew up!

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Yeah, probably you need some sort of moderator approval first. I can't PM you yet either

Thanks for the info you collected although as I understand those can vary quite a bit based on the condition of the piece, which can also vary quite a bit. SO let me start sorting them out and I will keep you posted. This might take me weeks, unfortunately, between my dayjob, kids' activities etc etc. But I do need to move those since I have no space left in my basement!

BTW, are you a member on the vintage computing forum? Haven't visited them forever...

Where in MD are you from?

Yes, I'm a member of the vc forum. I'm originally from Baltimore, but we moved to Columbia when I was a kid, so that's where I grew up. My folks live over by College Park now. How about you?

BTW, with respect to your "museum," I'm not sure, but my hunch is that you might actually do better on the Heathkit components if you offer them as a whole system. That would be saving somebody a lot of time and effort trying to track down the individual pieces. Plus if there's anything that's not functional, your buyer might nevertheless value it more highly because it's part of a system. Too bad you didn't get any software with it so you could test it. If you want, I can ask if there's anybody in your area who could check it for you. Not sure what else you have in those piles, but there's probably more good stuff.

I've started a support ticket to find out why I can't receive PMs. I'm new here, so I can understand not being able to send them, but I would have thought it would be OK to receive them.

I think PMs depend on post count. Try again as it mat be 10 needed.

Oh, nice haul. I am drooling.

You usually need a a certain number of posts to Pm, since your at 11, you should try again. ;)

An nice haul Ilyaz.

Sirscrapalot - Keeper of the traveling cooler, an has spent some time in Columbia, MD.

Thanks, guys. Still a no-go on sending PMs. I need to hang out here more, I guess.

sirscrapalot: A sandbar off the Atlantic sounds like a very nice place to be. Course, MD is A-OK too.

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Originally Posted by FLimits

Yes, I'm a member of the vc forum. I'm originally from Baltimore, but we moved to Columbia when I was a kid, so that's where I grew up. My folks live over by College Park now. How about you?

BTW, with respect to your "museum," I'm not sure, but my hunch is that you might actually do better on the Heathkit components if you offer them as a whole system. That would be saving somebody a lot of time and effort trying to track down the individual pieces. Plus if there's anything that's not functional, your buyer might nevertheless value it more highly because it's part of a system. Too bad you didn't get any software with it so you could test it. If you want, I can ask if there's anybody in your area who could check it for you. Not sure what else you have in those piles, but there's probably more good stuff.

I've started a support ticket to find out why I can't receive PMs. I'm new here, so I can understand not being able to send them, but I would have thought it would be OK to receive them.

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There is a working 386 that almost boots. Almost since I don't have a keyboard (DIN-type) for it. But I hooked it up to an LCD monitor through VGA and it does show booting until the "keyboard not detected" message.

Kind of cool, by the way: 386 machine with an LCD monitor :)

Anyway, I have a couple of other old PCs in the pile. Might want to go through them first actually, to clear up space, since they will probably take a lot less time than the Zenith and the Heathkit to figure out if they will go to scrap pile or be sold for parts or as functional.

I lived in CP when I went to graduate school at UMD. Still drive past it every day to/from work... Have a few friends in the Columbia-Ellicott City area

UMD is great. I took some computer science courses there years ago. I love that campus.

Your sorting strategy sounds reasonable. I think I saw an IBM 5150 in the background in one of your photos. Those are very collectible.

I think Heathkit sold "kits" which the customer assembled themselves. Radio Shack once was the same in many areas

Cool deal there Ilyaz

haha, I don't know why people don't hold back one old keyboard and a serial mouse ; )

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Originally Posted by Bear

haha, I don't know why people don't hold back one old keyboard and a serial mouse ; )

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Yes. So true! I try to keep one of most everything concerning cables, keyboards, mice, adaptors, etc.

If you want to get into testing, you need the parts.

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Originally Posted by FLimits

UMD is great. I took some computer science courses there years ago. I love that campus.

Your sorting strategy sounds reasonable. I think I saw an IBM 5150 in the background in one of your photos. Those are very collectible.

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You have a sharp eye :) Indeed it's a 5150 and I think it even boots, or at least makes booting noises when turned on. To test this one, though, not only do I need a keyboard, I also need the right monitor cable since VGA does not fit. I guess I need to start buying vintage parts...

That's one of the hazards of collecting those old machines. The technology has evolved so quickly, you need a million different connectors, peripherals, parts, etc., to be able to do anything with them. And then there's always missing software. Amazingly, a lot of old software (as well as things like technical manuals) can be found online, but that doesn't really solve the problem if you need the software on an 8" floppy and you don't have a working machine with an 8" drive. Collectors are always scrounging around for missing odds and ends.

BTW, if you would like me to try to find a volunteer to help you out, let me know. There are some good old-timers in your area with a lot of technical expertise (and old cables!).

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Originally Posted by FLimits

BTW, if you would like me to try to find a volunteer to help you out, let me know. There are some good old-timers in your area with a lot of technical expertise (and old cables!).

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PM sent just now

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Can capacitors when they get old can dry out then when power is applied they possibly can explode. Don't know about them hurting you but when one goes off it sure might make you soil your undies,,,,

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FYI - In electrical terms, soiled undies are referred to as a "brownout" :)

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Originally Posted by TheRecycleBin

FYI - In electrical terms, soiled undies are referred to as a "brownout" :)

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did seeing his collection give you, in weather terms, a "white out"? :lol:

Capacitors blow up when they short out (especially tantalum ones that get even slightly over voltage because the power supply is a bit wonky).

You have some interesting stuff in there from the pics I seen, wonder if much of it is in working condition or not.

For the IBM 5150 you will need an XT class keyboard or an early model M that does XT/AT. You can buy an adapter from ebay that allows you to use a normal PS/2 type keyboard on anything 286 and up that use the AT keyboard connector (couple bucks shipped).

Was there any software with this lot or just a jumble of machines?

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Originally Posted by unknownk

You have some interesting stuff in there from the pics I seen, wonder if much of it is in working condition or not.

Was there any software with this lot or just a jumble of machines?

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No software or documentation but I am hoping to get some from the same source in a matter of weeks. But that's a big if.

I am now working with a couple of vintage collector gurus to figure out whether these could be fired up. This is definitely a slow process which may end up taking months. But I am not in a hurry, at least not until I get some other stash like that and run out of basement space. :)

AST ADVENTURE 4066d Cyrix 486 DX2

thing still works somehow! it boots up

I cant find anything on ebay or on the forums about it

Anyone ever scrap one or resell?