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WTD: Altair 8080

R

rynoshark

New Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2012
Messages
5
Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
I am looking for an original Altair 8080 in very nice condition. Please PM me if you have one for sale including what S100 cards are included, what manuals you have, what original sales/etc paperwork is included, what date it was built, the serial number, and anything known to be wrong with the unit.

Thanks,
Ryan
 
They crop up on ebay from time to time and Sellam Ismail may still have one for sale for the right price, but the right price is generally in the $2000s.
 
I don't have an Altair, but I do have an IMSAI 8080 in the Seattle area. Last time I worked with it I think it had some sort of stuck bit issue depositing to memory from the front panel. Considering how rarely I have looked at this system since I acquired it I should troubleshoot and fix the problem and then sell it. Plus an ADM-3A terminal that would fit along with this system but isn't too interesting otherwise.

-Glen
 
There is a nice looking original MITS Altair 8800 unassembled kit on eBay right now.

But know this - if you buy it, and assemble it, you'll be on the hit list of a zillion and a half collectors.

OTOH, if you just want the machine, Grant Stockly sells reproduction unassembled kits, they sell for about the same price as the going rate of original machines. It is very difficult to find one for under $2000.

Also, if you just want it to tinker with, get an Imsai instead. They are easier to find, are a better machine (IMO), and the nice big plastic paddle switches don't hurt your hands after a few dozen bytes of code toggling.
 
TX_Dj said:
Also, if you just want it to tinker with, get an Imsai instead. They are easier to find, are a better machine (IMO), and the nice big plastic paddle switches don't hurt your hands after a few dozen bytes of code toggling.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend this too, I've used both and the IMSAI front panel is much nicer.
 
TX_Dj said:
... if you just want the machine, Grant Stockly sells reproduction unassembled kits, they sell for about the same price as the going rate of original machines...
Click to expand...
Grant Stockly doesn't reply to emails.
Does anybody knows whats up with him and his kits?
Frank
 
He doesn't respond quickly, but he does respond.

I was poised to purchase all 3 of his kits last year, and unfortunately had a pile of medical bills when he contacted me back for them.

Patience is definitely a virtue when dealing with Mr. Stockly.
 
We were just having this discussion in another thread.

First an early Altair in working conditions and decent shape (I.e. good front panel and such) that can hook up to a terminal and work is pretty rare these days. None have come up on eBay in years. Only flashing lights and stuff as "working". The blinky lights stuff is easy. Mine passed all those tests with broken wires and bad chips. Now I'm not counting 8800b units here they are much more likely to be in working and decent condition as most of the weak points were corrected.

Also many kits were built and never worked until the owners gutted them and replaced the inferior parts with stuff that was easier to get running. To be honest I think a fully working machine which could run and load basic off of a teletype with correct MITS parts (not replacement motherboards and cards) in great shape may actually cost more than that unassembled eBay one as the hours to get it running with the 100's of wires is measured in the 100's of hours.

I'm sure if I kept track to get mine restored was over 200 hours with a desoldering station and a paint gun. not to mention all the time with an oscilliscope. In the end I completely rewired the front panel and motherboards (yes plural) with NOS wire. I also laced the wires from the panel into looms. I also completely rebuilt the original power supply and refinished the front panel. This was also many 1000's of dollars in restoration costs to also track down MITS cards and buy all the date correct replacment chips for anything that has gone bad(sometimes buying $200 in chips to get a single one).For Example: It cost me almost $500 for the correct MITS serial card (and it only had one port and didn't even work when I got it at that price)

On the other hand that's still cheaper than trying to track down a bumper on a 1965 corvette so I think this hobby isn't so bad when you take it to the extreme.

So good luck with your search. And remember they are also hard to keep running so you might as well buy one for 2-3k on eBay and get it working. The skills will be needed over time to keep it running and until you have wired one by hand yourself you have no idea what could go wrong.

Cheers,
Corey
 
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