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Mark-8 boards on ebay

Just one final comment from me.

How we value something today, may not be the same as how something is valued tomorrow. Apple 1's are a classic example of that, going from 20K to 500,000K in a couple of years. Once you build them or alter them, you can't entirely undo it.

In the end, I respect differing opinions and decisions on how to care for these rare items.


regards,
Mike Willegal
 
Congrats on the win! I've chased many vintage computing items and unbuilt Mark-8 boards was near the top of my list for a long time. I was tempted to bid until the last minute (checking the countdown while at a concert) and I actually had a snipe set at a much higher number. I ended up deciding not to bid, but already I was going through the same emotions as you: would I build it, or keep them as is?

In the end I agree with Mike 100%. How we value these things today will certainly be different from how we value them in the future. I have no question that we will value unbuilt Mark-8 boards much greater in the future than we do today.

Cameron
 
I had no plan at all to buy Mark-8 stuff. I assumed it would be completely beyond my reach, and that was if it ever appeared. I set my bid at $6500 but I was sure it would go crazy. I think a lot of people probably were thinking like we did -- ie. 'what do we do with these?'. It really provokes deep philosophical questions. I almost was kind of hoping I lost so I'd be off the hook. :)



qubitz said:
Congrats on the win! I've chased many vintage computing items and unbuilt Mark-8 boards was near the top of my list for a long time. I was tempted to bid until the last minute (checking the countdown while at a concert) and I actually had a snipe set at a much higher number. I ended up deciding not to bid, but already I was going through the same emotions as you: would I build it, or keep them as is?

In the end I agree with Mike 100%. How we value these things today will certainly be different from how we value them in the future. I have no question that we will value unbuilt Mark-8 boards much greater in the future than we do today.

Cameron
Click to expand...
 
Personally I'd build the machine. Unlike the apple 1 the mark 8 is a hobbiest built machine. The parts came from where ever you got them. So there is no right or wrong... Mine is built on later production boards. I also used a molex back plane. Wiring the boards together is a big mistake. It makes trouble shooting a big pain. The boards are laid out to accommodate the connectors.

I also designed a video card that plugs into mine, 16 by 32 characters. It was based on some early articles in byte.

Btw Brian was in town this summer and we got together with Jon for lunch. We had a nice trip down memory lane.

If you have questions I can probably get Jon on the forum to answer them directly.

Len
 
Thanks!

If I did it, and I'm not sure I have the wherewithal to, I'd want the date codes to be right at least. I've yet to see a 1975 or earlier 8263 show up anywhere. I've also been looking around for my clone project and cannot find correct vintage 1101 RAMs anywhere. So those are some hurdles. Plus, I just got photos from the forwarding service I use (this was a US only auction) and the boards have their original Techniques bags! Hard to think of messing with that. But we'll see.
 
Boards are here!

There was a bit of a delay as I use a freight forwarder from the US and wanted to bundle it with other stuff I bought to save on shipping. Pretty awesome having these pieces of history in my hands. Definitely the crown jewels of my collection. Quite a bit smaller than I visualized. No doubt at all that they are legitimate.

I *think* they are untouched.. but they do have some scratches and every now and again it kind of looks like solder remnants are there. Maybe plating? One board has clearly been repaired.. not sure if that was factory to correct mistakes.

Anyway I've posted my Drive link so you get the high detail. I'll work on getting them scanned asap.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4pq0-BHd2x6U1RKREJPTDFZQ00
 
Roland Huisman said:
I always wondered if my Mark 8 boards were original or were home made back then.
The machine is 100% sure built in the early seventies.
http://technischmuseum.nl/devices/Mark 8/Mark 8.html
Click to expand...

I would say original, even if it was a home etched set, the Mark-8 isn't like a Scelbi or Altair. They gave out plans and wanted people to make their own boards. Ordering a set of complete boards was just a convenience. Boards were also manufactured by sources other than those associated with the magazine article. Think of the Mark-8 as the first "Open-source" computer.

Cheers,
Corey
 
Cool! It's interesting, seeing the ICs someone in Europe used.

I'm curious about all the extra 7401s on the multiplexer board and what they do.
 
It's curious that while there's interest in early 8008 efforts, there's none that I can detect for Datapoint 2200 systems.

Want to know where the ISA and "little endian" conventions for the 8008 came from? look no further. What's remarkable is that many of the opcodes (binary encoding) are the same as those of the 8008.
 
falter said:
Cool! It's interesting, seeing the ICs someone in Europe used.
Click to expand...
Hmm I've never thought of that difference between US and Europe...

falter said:
I'm curious about all the extra 7401s on the multiplexer board and what they do.
Click to expand...
Well I have the documentation of the machine in some of the move boxes. So I can tell you later on.
The machine was built by two brothers (Jaap and Henk Berkhoudt). The machine was highly expanded by them.
It has a HUGE amount of 14KB memory (the blue boards). They hated the toggle switches and made the push button panel.

Mark 8 15.jpg

It has also an EPROM in it with a tape loader, a casette interface, a 'graphics' card to connect to a monitor etc...

The machine doesn't look like the 'standard' mark 8... But I really love it like it is.

Regards, Roland
 
Last edited:
Chuck(G) said:
It's curious that while there's interest in early 8008 efforts, there's none that I can detect for Datapoint 2200 systems.

Want to know where the ISA and "little endian" conventions for the 8008 came from? look no further. What's remarkable is that many of the opcodes (binary encoding) are the same as those of the 8008.
Click to expand...

I think we're supposed to believe that the Datapoint 2200 is totally irrelevant, so that the 4004 can be considered the ultimate progenitor of the processors used in Windows X machines.
 
...but the 4004 was developed in parallel with the 8008; it wasn't a progenitor of anything, save other 4 bit MCUs. At least that's the way I think of it.
 
That's the way I think of it too. I don't even think it influenced any other 4 bit uPs.

Yet others insist that the 4004 is hugely significant as we wouldn't have the latest "x86”, and hence, any useful computers, without it.
 
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