What's the oldest FULLY WORKING PC you have?

[M1PFS]

It has to be working. You must be able to use it (not just to keep your coffee warm).
(corrected Poll: years 20 -25 were missing)

[kl7aj]

An early 80s vintage Amstrad 286...still use for packet. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
eric

[n0xas]

Timex-Sinclair TS1000, still ticking. Not that I *do* use it for anything, but I *could*.

[KD7WHQ]

I have one of those ;)

Commodore VIC-20, single supply. It'll run off a battery, and works as well as the day it was made..

[AD5UT]

C64 and Apple 2gs Have to keep up on my BASIC http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[ki4llu]

I have an old TRSDOS Model 4P (Tandy used to be Radio Shacks line of computers)
If I remember correctly TRS was The Radio Shack. 8 k of ram if I remember right.???

[wa4brl]

Started out with a Timex/Sinclair TS-1000 in the early 80's. I gave it away years ago. Funny, they were sold by the local Singer sewing machine dealer.

I still have my Commodore 128, though. I got it in the mid 1980's and it still runs great. I remember buying it at Toys-R-Us. Each piece cost $250 -- the computer, each floppy drive, the monitor, and the printer. $1250 bucks, and it seemed a bargain at the time. The 128 is the same thing as a C-64, but with more memory AND it'll run the CP/M operating system (anybody remember THAT?). In CP/M, I ran dBase and WordStar "borrowed" from a Kaypro machine. The 128 ran at nearly 1 MHz clock frequency. We thought that was fast at the time. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[KF0RT]

In my closet, I have a working 200MHz Pentium that's maybe 7 years old. At one time, I had thoughts of using it to play with Linux. Dreams and misdemeanors. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Just last year, I junked 6 computers, all of which were older and most were working. A couple 386's in that batch. Somewhere in there was the 200MB Seagate hard drive that I paid $1,000 for.

73, Rob

[K9STH]

LLU:

The Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I had 16K of RAM in the basic unit. Then you could add another 32K of RAM making a total of 48K with the "expansion interface". This interface allowed the addition of up to four 160K single density single sided 5.25 inch floppy discs which then could be used instead of the audio tape recorder.

When I acquired the expansion interface and some disc drives I was in "seventh heaven" when compared with the old tape recorder method of input / output.

This was the first personal computer that was "mass produced" and is the one that I listed as being the oldest that I have. In fact, it was the first one that I purchased to help my eldest daughter when the Plano Independent School District first obtained some TRS-80 Model I computers to use at their schools.

Glen, K9STH

[N5PVL]

This sure is an enjoyable topic to read.

[KD5NCO]

I have a Timex Sinclare, Vic 20 , Commodor 64 all still work but those just barely qualify as PCs.

My oldest PC is a home brew 8088 4.77mhz with 768K of very slow RAM (but very expensive at the time) the Hard drive is from Seagate in 1983 cost $532 for a whooping 5 Mb space formated for RLL (run length limited) encoding.

The MODEM is an acoustically coupled bell103 standard at 300baud that also cost a small fortune back then. #

Any guess who made the MODEM? #

I got it for $129.95 from 921 Louisville rd, Starkville MS 39759 according to my receipt from MFJ Enterprises Inc.

[n5tjd]

Golly, where to start.
I have 2 1981 IBMs, one with a 20MB hard drive that you have to manually park.

I also have an Atari. It is in storage so I don't know the model number something like an ST1200 or something close.

Don't forget my trusty 1978 Trash-80 (as many owners of the TRS-80 have come to lovingly call them). I have the basic unit with the tape drive. Those tapes were always getting corrupted....

[w5alt]

Ahhh, yes, the Trash-80. Lord how many times did I have mine all apart spread out on the kitchen table and people swearing that I'd never get it put back together again!

Let's see, I added graphics memory to display lower case, then built a 300 baud modem, then built the expansion interface, then expanded the memory to 48k (plus the 16k ROM), and added dual floppies (single sided 5 1/4"). I also upped the clock from 1 MHz to 4 MHz, software and toggle switch controlable, so I could shift into "high gear" for certain program operations and back to "low gear" for timing critical things.

Then I started on the software. I wrote an assembler for the Z80, since I was too cheap to buy one, then rewrote the operating system using Forth instead of Basic - burned it into a ROM and made it selectable via a switch - my first dual boot machine. I got the cassete interface to work as a really simple 1 1/2 bit A/D D/A converter and used that to play with interfacing to my ham gear.

Then I was given a real cheap TI computer, what was it 99-4A or something with the TMS9900 CPU. Did the same expansions on it and got the two machines to talk to each other over homebrew serial ports on each. Of course, once they were talking, I had to try networking, so I rewrote the operating systems on both again to make them talk to each other and swap data, etc.

I don't know what happened to either one of those, but they were certainly fun to tinker with. That was when I started playing with amateur digital stuff.

73,
Walt, W5ALT

[AG3Y]

Well, I have no idea how old it is, but I have an XT-type computer that is a "computer on a card" and has no actual motherboard. The machine still worked the last time I turned it on, but that has probably been 4 or 5 years ago ! The case is rather compact for its generation, and has a 20 Mb hard drive, as well as a 4.25inch 360k floppy. Remember, all these devices are mounted on cards that plug into the backplane ( or in this case, the bottom-plane! )

I also have an honest-to-goodness "Grid" portable that runs on a 17.5 volt power supply, although the batteries for it are long gone.

I would estimate both of these machines to be around 20 or more years old !

73, Jim

[ky5u]

TRS 80 Model I, Coco, Apple II....Got a working Atari 520 and 1040. Got TRS pocket computer I and II. Have a BBS program that runs on the pocket computer II. Lets you leave a "thought of the day". Room for 25 thoughts. That's it....LOL!

[w8cbc]

DEC VAXmate - Digital's attempted answer to the IBM PS/2. 1986. i286-8 + i287, 4 meg mem (1 meg built-in), 40 meg ST-251 in the pizza box underneath. It was pretty advanced for its time. Built-in 10b2 ethernet, optional internal modem (2400), non-standard 640x400 graphics. The only external items were the keyboard and the rat.

The text display is nice and crisp. I wound up recreating that font (with a few modifications because some of it was rather ugly) for my Linux machines.

Mine runs Minix now. I haul it out of the closet every now and then just for the hell of it. It was my first "own" computer, pieced together from two carcasses, in 1994. I played around with ELKS and DRDOS on it. I have the original install floppies - DOS-3.1 and Windoze-1.03. I saw the original bill of sale. The Ontario gov't paid a bit over $7000 for the thing in 1987.

[WA2CWA]

Still playing with my HP-150, single floppy machine, with optional external 20 Meg hard drive and optional external dual floppy box. Cool green print and also has a touch screen. Vintage 83/84. Still runs DOS 3.2.

Pete, wa2cwa
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/hp150.jpg

[N0PU]

IMSAI 8080 w/16K RAM 128K floppy disk ... Boxed but fully functional... also has paper tape reader... and an ADM-3 monitor...

1974? maybe 1975 but WAY before IBM...

also 1976 or 77 Intel 8085 prototype board also functional...

[KG6YTZ]

A pair of Timex/Sinclair 1000's - one was my dad's - along with a Corona Data Systems PPC-400 "luggable" [NEC V20-based XT clone with a 9" green mono screen] and a Kaypro 2X which I acquired as a cast-off in about 1995 and have never actually used. #[No CP/M with it; just got the computer.]

My first hands-on experience with computers was fiddlin' around with the TRS-80 Model 1 displays at my local Radio Shark ["You've got questions, we've got cell phones"] circa late 1978, learning some very basic - pardon the pun - BASIC programming. #The first computer I actually owned was that T/S-1000, a birthday gift in 1983 [22 years ago this coming Monday].

The first "PC" I owned was the Corona - October 18th, 1990. #It had a 1200bps modem installed, and Hayes SmartCom II software [utter garbage, BTW]. #On the morning of 10/25/1990, I decided to give that modem thing a try - I had never used one or been online before. #I picked a few local numbers out of the BBS listings in The Recycler, figured out how to get SmartCom II to dial 'em up, and wound up spending the entire day online being generally befuddled and collecting other BBS numbers. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif #Eventually I wound up running a BBS of my own, and even a small BBS network, from May 1991 to June 2002. #Various factors led to the shutdown, but they included a move which turned into six weeks in a motel [long story], and a mass migration of dialup BBS users to the Internet.

[al2i]

I have my first computer and it is still working perfectly. It is a 1977 Imsai 8080 with 32 different s-100 cards to play with.

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[al2i]

FWIW, I spent $800 apeice for 4 IMS 8k static RAM cards in 1977. They cost me $3200, which is at least twice that in current dollars.

My most recent purchase was for a pair of 1/2 gig DDR pc-3200 DIMMs for $69 each.

[WA9SVD]

Quote[/b] (al2i @ Sep. 01 2005,22:31)]FWIW, I spent $800 apeice for 4 IMS 8k static RAM cards in 1977. They cost me $3200, which is at least twice that in current dollars.

My most recent purchase was for a pair of 1/2 gig DDR pc-3200 DIMMs for $69 each.
Strangely enough, it would probably cost you almost as much to buy the same (vintage memory cards) today!

[K6BBC]

ZERO - I have 5 macs.

That said, my first was a Kaypro that operated CPM. Then a DOS machine. Then Mac. Then Windows 95/98. Then back to Mac when I finally determined Windows was crap.

[KI6ADA]

My first computer was a Radio Shack brand computer that required 3.5 floppies to access the mother board. I think it was the upgrade to the TRS-80. I want to say it was a HTX model. I sold it for $300.00 when the first 8mb ram and 500mb HD 286 hit the consumer market.
Now I have a AMD XP 2000 with a 80gb HD and 512mb ram. Built it for the same amount I sold the HTX over 15 years ago. Great Thread! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[kb0wzy]

Well, I had a Timex/Sinclair-1000, but I just gave it away. It was still in the box, but the computer was in much better shape than the box.

But I do still have a fully-functional Tandy Model-100 with 32Kb of RAM. It probably needs a new ni-cad that keeps the memory alive while you change the batteries.

My current PC may not be current "state-of-the-art", but that terminology is somewhat difficult to nail-down, given the rapid development of hardware being "out-of-date" by the time it gets to the store. #

Reading this thread brought back fond memories of much different times. #No internet, no spam, no viruses, no email, no cell phones, no CD players, but as a consolation, we did have 8-track players....

73's,
kb0wzy

[w0aew]

My daughter is thinking about selling her Apple Color Classic, circa 1993. I wonder what I should offer her for it? It's kind of fun to play with.

[KC2OOS]

I still have my first PC, an Atari 800 with 48K of RAM, tape drive, Rana Systems Model 1000 127KB 5.25" floppy drive, and the BASIC and Star Raiders cartridges. It still works, but it's more of a museum piece at this point. It was purchased new in 1982 as my christmas present that year for about 650 USD for the CPU alone, if I remember correctly.

Ah, the nights I stayed up late typing in BASIC programs from Antic Magazine...

[w8cbc]

There are three Commodore 64s in a cabinet in the generator shed at one of my sites. I'm half tempted to put one together from the lot. I'd have to get rid of some of my other stuff first though.

[kc0uva]

My oldest in-service machine is a Sun Sparc 5 running OpenBSD (http://www.openbsd.org) that I used to use for shell sessions, but now just sits idle (with something like 800 days of uptime).

The oldest working machine I have, however, is a Osborne 1, given to me and my first computer that was *mine*. I've had it since I was in grade school, so about 18 years or so, give or take.

[w8cbc]

I have a SS5. A few of them actually. I like Sun kit. The one ran continually until I picked up an Ultra 5 and had no place to put it - so the SS5 went to join its kin in the closet.

I'm on the U5 right now.

[WA9SVD]

Yep, the ol' 1987 NEC MultiSpeed EL (NEC V30, DOS 3.3, dual 720kB floppies; external 200 MB Conner DiskStor, occasionally Zip 100 drive) still works fine when charged up, but I'm on the third Battery. The NiMH (home-brew) replacements still run it for a couple of hours. Works great for Packet and logging, esp. portable operations. Even has built-in terminal program for packet; no disk access needed
The LCD screen backlight IS begiinning to get a bit dim, though!

[ac0cl]

Apple powerbook 180(1991)
286(1987)
386(don't know)

Neat poll, I collect old computers.

AC0CL

[KD5NCO]

Oldest computer I ever worked with was :
FADAC
# #Field Artillery Digital Automatic Computer
# #
# # # # # # MANUFACTURER
# #Autonetics Division
# #North American Aviation, Incorporated

http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL61-0254.jpg

Any one care to guess what a FOSDIC was?

http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL61-0258.jpg

http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL61-0259.jpg

Film Optical Sensing Device for Input to Computers

[wx4v]

My oldest computer still running is a Packerd-Bell 386 running Mandrake Linux 6.5. I have a Trendware 56k external modem. I use it mostly for the internet and aprs. Still running with no problems yet WX4V Tim

[K8ERV]

Quote[/b] (n0xas @ Aug. 31 2005,11:56)]Timex-Sinclair TS1000, still ticking. #Not that I *do* use it for anything, but I *could*.
You date yourself!!

K8ERV

[K8ERV]

How about my PET, 1978

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[kc0vrs]

I was given a computer that was made back in 96 to use for packet and WSJT. Still works like a champ!