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Value of an Altair case

falter

falter

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Joined
Jan 22, 2011
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Location
Vancouver, BC
Here's one I'm wondering about..

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=301760807887&alt=web

Just the case, and a few scruffy boards. I went this route with my Apple II.. getting the case and finding the right parts to return it to correct specs. Actually enjoyed it. Not sure if I saved any money vs. going for a complete one; A2S1 prices kind of dipped after more and more of them began appearing on ebay.

I'm assuming this seller is veing unrealistic.. complete Altairs have sold for $2300 or less. What'd be a fair offer for a case? How hard is it going to be to locate the essential boards for operation? I see lots of Altair ram boards online but not cpu.
 
This Altair looks good, but lack of original CPU board and S-100 plate.

To collect a complete Altair 8800 is very hard and costly.
 
Just the case, and a few scruffy boards.
Click to expand...
A CPU and a ram board are the bare essentials to operate an Altair from the front panel alone, mind you it's still scummy he's obviously stripped out a loaded box and doesn't even want to give you an SIO board.

Unfortunately genuine Altairs are not getting any cheaper. There's a demand for them now by museums and rather wealthy collectors. The closest near-identical substitute you can get these days is the AltairClone and even it is $625.
 
Thanks guys. So the board that is in the case now.. that's a replacement of some kind (if I'm understanding correctly.. the 's100 plate' is the base board with the s100 slots in it)?

I'd be happy to have something like that just for display.. but it'd be nice to collect the boards to get it running again too.

Curious.. what exactly is needed to get Gates' BASIC running on that beyond those boards and I assume a tape reader?
 
I believe the Altairclone case can be purchased separately. You may want to check it with the guys on Altairclone website.
To run earlier Gates Basic you would need at least 4/8KB. You can enter the basic from tape, cassette, serial port, EPROM... Although reading basic from a paper tape is Cool, you can use the serial port connected to a computer. To do this You will need a serial port card, like MITS SIO or similar.
 
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