Items destined for eBay auctions - Page 2

I've been planning to auction these items on eBay, but it hasn't been a high priority. If someone asks and if I have the time to do it, I'll try to promptly put the requested items up for public (not private) auction and let you know when it starts.

Use the email address on this site's Feedback page to inquire. If you want to check my eBay Feedback ratings and comments, ask me for my eBay user name.

I will generally sell these items only on eBay. See the My eBay terms of sale page.

The description with each item (if any) is the proposed auction listing. Some are from previous auctions where the items didn't sell.

"Likely price" is what I expect to use as the starting bid. If you think the price is too high, you can't hurt anything by suggesting a different one.

Items with a "Likely price" of $0.99 or less are items I want to get rid of, to anyone willing to pay the shipping cost. On request, I'll bundle one or more of them with other items into an auction lot. Even after you win an auction, you can request that $0.99 items be included. Make the request at any time before you pay for the auction. If the additional items raise the shipping cost, you must pay the additional charges. That is why you must ask before you pay.

Categories index

• Phonograph records (vinyl LP)
• Vintage computer items
• Books
• Miscellaneous

Vintage Computer Items

Dual 8 inch Single Sided Floppy Disk Drives in cabinet + Power Supply + 12 Diskettes

Likely price $150.

A dual 8" floppy disk drive assembly that originally was part of a Zilog MCZ-1/05 computer system in the early 1980's. The drives worked reliably with my Heath/Zenith H-100 computer (an S-100 bus computer) from about 1986 until about 1996, when the H-100's power supply failed. Until 1989, I used the drives approximately once a month for one task that required the additional storage. The rest of the time they were mostly either unused or switched off since they were not the H-100's primary drives. I don't know how much use they saw prior to 1986, but they were the primary drives for the computer they were previously connected to.

I performed tests on the power supply (described below) and ran the drives for several hours. It powers up, the drives rotate, and the look, sound, feel, and smell of the unit are no different now from when it was in active use. Without a compatible computer, I can't test the seek mechanism and data transfer functionality. I am selling this unit as-is, but if there are any problems, you should contact me.

Whether these drives will work with a particular computer, controller, or operating system depends on the configurability of those components. They did not seem to work with the Heath/Zenith "CP/M-85" operating system. I never figured out why, but I didn't need them under CP/M-85, and didn't try very hard.

Includes:

• Two Shugart Associates Model No. 800-2 single sided 8" floppy disk drives housed in a steel cabinet.
• External fan-cooled power supply in a separate cabinet, with schematic sheet for it.
• 120VAC power cord for the power supply (about 7.5 feet long).
• Power cable that supplies multiple voltages from the power supply to the disk drives (about 4 feet long).
• 50-pin data ribbon cable to connect the disk drives to your computer's 8" floppy disk controller card (about 5 feet long)
• 1 heavy-duty black plastic box for holding 8" diskettes, containing...
• 12 8" floppy diskettes.

The Drives

• Two (2) 8" single-sided floppy disk drives, "Shugart Associates Model No. 800-2", Serial Numbers C49303 and A88514.
• Mounted in a blue & beige steel cabinet 9½" Width x 9" Height (+ 1½" sturdy handle on top) x 15" Front-to-Back (+ the drive door handles that extend about ½" at the front). The cabinet has a ¼" scratch, a 1/8" scratch, and a 1/16" chip in the finish, but generally looks pretty good.
• Cabinet has 4 rubber feet on the bottom.
• Disk ejects when you open the drive door.
• For its own safety, the ribbon cable is being shipped detached from the drives. You will need to remove 4 small screws from the back of the cabinet, partially pull out the cabinet's rear panel (see photo below for reference), thread the cable out through a slot, and reconnect the two plugs to the drives. I've marked the correct cable orientation on the back panel.
• With these drives under MSDOS 2.0, I used to get 250,880 bytes (245KB) on each 8" floppy disk after formatting. Judging by the Zenith MSDOS 2.0 manual and my old notes, the only option MSDOS provided at that time (using the /A or /M switches) was to format them as both single-sided and single-density; thus the low capacity. It looks like the drives should be able to do better, and I can't remember or reconstruct why MSDOS couldn't or wouldn't.

The Power Supply

• Measures approximately 10" W x 4" H x 17.5" Front-to-back.
• Fan-cooled.
• Its blue cabinet was held to the chassis with 20 small flathead screws, of which there are now only 6 remaining, but it's enough to hold it in place.
• The blue cabinet has quite a few scratches, some of them deep, into the metal.
• Has 6 rubber feet on the bottom.
• Included are schematics for the power supply, with inputs and pinouts shown, and a Specifications Sheet for the MCZ computer that the power supply was from, which includes the power supply specifications.

Since this unit originally supplied power to its entire computer, not just the drives, its outputs are considerably more than the drives require, and it could be a good general purpose power supply for the voltages it delivers. I recently checked its outputs with voltmeter and oscilloscope. The DC voltages were close to specifications (and are adjustable) and the oscilloscope traces were straight lines.

Specifications:

Input:

• 115 VAC @ 3 Amps

Outputs:

• +5 VDC @ 9 Amps
• -5 VDC @ 0.5 Amp
• +24 VDC @ 1.0 Amp

The Diskettes In A Box

• 1 Wilson Jones DeskRef #33053 heavy-duty black plastic box (in good condition) for holding 8" diskettes, containing 12 diskettes:
• 7 BASF "FlexyDisk 1D" SSSD 8" diskettes, in lightly used good condition or better,
• 3 BASF "FlexyDisk" SSDD 8" diskettes, in used good condition,
• 2 Dysan #800605 SSDD 8" diskettes with reinforced hubs, in lightly used good condition or better.
• 4 extra diskette labels.

When you open the plastic box, the part that holds the diskettes swings out to form a stand that holds them upright.

Notes on the images:

• The stand shown in one of the photos is not included.
• One image is just a scan of one of the diskettes. There is no photo of the black plastic box. I decided to include the box of diskettes after all the photos, taken with a film camera, had already been developed.

Other Notes:

• I have been unable to determine for certain the relationship between these drives (Model No. 800-2, as read from the manufacturer's label) and those commonly referred to as the "SA800". By some, the model numbers appear to be used interchangeably. On another website I found a comment that the SA800 model was earlier than the 800. They look the same in photographs. That they are at least closely related seems likely. It's important because there is a wealth of information available online about the SA800, including manuals.
• I would be happy to assist you (by email, or by telephone if you pay the charges) with setup, configuration, and troubleshooting if necessary. I can also provide you the results of my web searches.
• The unit is somewhat noisy, with the whirring of the power supply fan and the continuous rotation of the drives.
• The drives are packed in one box (an apple box) with padding materials, the power supply in another box with padding, and those two boxes are double-boxed together inside a large moving box (19" x 19" x 25") along with the box of diskettes, with more padding. That large box will be the shipment to you. It is quite heavy.

Heath/Zenith S-100 Fully Populated 256K Dynamic RAM Card + Manual

Likely price $38.

This is an excellent condition Zenith Data Systems Model Z-205 fully populated 256K Dynamic RAM S-100 bus card, Part No. 85-2898-1, dated 1983, that was installed in a Heathkit H-100 computer. It ran flawlessly for more than 10 years, during which time there was not even a RAM chip failure. I will guarantee that the card is still functional, provided you know what you are doing with regard to configuration and installation.

You must properly configure the card's DIP switches and jumpers before you install it, or you can damage it.

Features:

• S-100 bus interface, proposed IEEE Standard 696.
• 256K Bytes (or 128K Words) of parity-checked dynamic RAM, using the following DRAM chips (36 total): 18 NEC D4164C-2, 9 Texas Instruments TMS4164-15NL, 5 NEC D4164C-3, 3 "F"-logo MB8264A-15, and 1 "MT"-logo 4264-15. (The retail price of these chips online appears to be about $0.65 to $2.00 each, plus shipping, so this isn't a bad deal even just for these chips alone.)
• 256K x 8 + parity or 128K x 16 + byte parity. Automatic width selection via S-100 bus 16REQ/16ACK signals.
• 256K contiguous address locations, configurable on 64K boundaries within 1 of 16 1-megabyte blocks.
• 317 nanoseconds maximum access time using 200 ns RAM
• 0, 1, 2, or 3 wait states, user-selectable.
• Refresh transparent, on board, independent of bus
• Power requirements 8-11 VDC at 1.2A maximum.
• Board is jumperable to use 64K, 128K, or the full 256K of its onboard memory.
• Starting address set by DIP switches
• I/O Port address set by DIP switch

This package also includes:

• Z-205 User's Manual Copyright 1983, more than 60 pages: specifications, detailed configuration instructions, theory of operation and detailed circuit description, troubleshooting chart, replacement parts list, semiconductor identification, PAL equations, circuit board x-ray view, S-100 pin definitions, Mitsubishi data sheet for 65536 bit Dynamic RAM, and a schematic of the board in good condition. This 1983 manual contains a number of errata sheets and schematic and other revisions that were incorporated in the manual's later edition(s).

The images show

1. The board
2. A scan of part of the cover of the manual
3. A scan of a portion of the schematic diagram
4. A scan of a portion of the circuit board x-ray view

Heath/Zenith S-100 Fully Populated 256K Dynamic RAM Card

Likely price $24.

This is essentially the same as the previous item, except that  no User's Manual or other information is included with this card because I had 3 cards and only 2 User's Manuals.

Heath/Zenith H-100 (S-100) Dual-CPU 8088/8085 4 MHz Motherboard + Manuals

Likely price $155

This is a Heathkit/Heath/Zenith Motherboard, Part #85-2653-1, from a Heathkit H-100 computer (also known as Zenith Z-100 computer). Also included are manuals, containing a large amount of documentation for this board. See details below. The H-100 was an S-100 bus computer. The manuals included contain a huge amount of reference data. Heathkit was well known during this era for the exceptionally high quality of the documentation for its products.

The board ran perfectly for more than 10 years and is in excellent condition. I no longer have the means to test it, but I will nonetheless guarantee that it is physically operational, provided you know what you are doing with respect to providing a power supply and setting it up.

Features:

• Dual CPU: 8088 + 8085
• 4 MHz clock
• 192 KBytes onboard Dynamic RAM.
• 5 slots for S-100 accessory boards (floppy disk controller, hard disk controller, RAM up to 768K maximum, etc.)
• 2 Serial Ports (1 DTE, 1 DCE)
• 1 Centronics-type Parallel Port
• 1 Light Pen Port
• Dimensions: 11" x 17", quite large. I forgot to put a scale indicator in the photo.
• The board has no user modifications. There are several point-to-point connections on the back in fine-gauge wire, which it had when it came from the factory.

This board has many usable semiconductor components

• 27 (twenty-seven) 64K x 1bit type 4164 (actually OKI #M3764-20RS) dynamic RAM chips, for a total of 192 KBytes of parity-checked RAM. Their speed is unknown, so I'm assuming slow 200ns. The retail price of these chips online appears to be about $0.65 to $2.00 each, plus shipping.
• 1 Intel P8088 CPU
• 1 NEC D8085AC CPU
• 2 NEC D8259AC
• 1 NEC D8253C-5
• 1 HD468A21P
• 2 SCN2661B
• 1 Intel P8041A
• 2 MC1488P
• 3 MC1489AP
• 1 Heath Part No. 444-87-5, which I think is the MTR-100 Monitor ROM. Not sure.
• And more than 100 other assorted socketed semiconductor components, plus crystal oscillators and the other components you'd expect to find on a motherboard.

This package also includes the following:

• Z-100 Hardware Technical Manual (the sections pertaining to the motherboard), more than 200 pages in a large 3-ring binder: in-depth description of the motherboard, its circuitry and theory of operation, jumper settings, programming data, replacement parts list, semiconductor identification, circuit board x-ray view, connector pin definitions, in-depth description of the keyboard encoder and its output codes, a very short description of the H-100 power supply and a detailed specification sheet for it (which as a result describes what this motherboard requires), parts list and exploded views of the H-100 chassis, and the 4-part set of motherboard schematics in perfect condition in their original protective envelope.
  
• Z-100 Appendices to the Technical Manual (the sections pertaining to the motherboard), about 150 pages in a large 3-ring binder: the H-100 system specifications, an article reprint of the "IEEE Task 696.1 / D2 Standard Specifications for S-100 Bus Interface Devices (Draft)", the Intel 8085A CPU Architecture Functional Description, the Intel 8085 Instruction Set Reference manual, and manufacturer data sheets for semiconductors used on the motherboard including specifications and detailed programming data.
  
• Heathkit H-100-1 Low-Profile Computer Assembly Manual, 25 pages: parts lists, assembly instructions, Illustration Book with parts pictorial and identifier, and illustrations to assist with component location and assembly.
  
• The 2 plugs (with their wire bundles still attached) for connecting the motherboard to a power supply.
  
• 2 additional plugs, with wire bundles, that were outputs from this computer's power supply. These plugs went unused on this computer but might be useful to you if you are working with other old computer equipment. I think one was for a Winchester drive (but won't work with modern hard drives), and the other is unknown.
  
• The 2 ribbon cables that connect the motherboard to its Video Logic Board. The VLB itself is not included.
  
• An article clipped from REMark magazine, June 1989, titled Z-100 Survival Kit #5, that discusses the features of the programmable keyboard encoder.
  
• A replacement key assembly for one key for the H-100 keyboard. If a keyboard key shorts out or opens, or goes intermittent or sticky, you can unsolder its mechanism from the board, replace it with this, and transfer the keycap. I'm actually including 2, but only 1 is known good. The other may be glitchy.

The Accompanying Images

• Photo of the motherboard. By the time I learn proper lighting for circuit boards, I will have sold them all.
• Exterior of the documentation binders, with the various cables in front.
• Interior of the documentation binders, with Assembly Manual behind.
• A scan of the index of the component Data Sheets section of the Hardware Manual Appendices volume.
• A scan of the index of one of the board's schematic sheets.
• A collage of 3 scans of some documentation items in an attempt to show more detail.

Other Notes

• I will be happy to try provide some email assistance with setup or configuration, although you will have all the board's reference materials, so I'm not likely to be much use.
• This lot is priced for the "whole kit and caboodle". If the lot doesn't sell, I may be willing to break it up and sell the pieces in smaller, lower-priced lots, but probably only if anyone has expressed interest in it. Let me know which item(s) you'd want to be able to bid on separately.

Epson MANUAL (only) for MX-80 RS-232C/Current Loop Interface board, 1980(?)

Likely price $4.50

This is a 6" x 8", 17-page Epson user manual (possibly dated 11-10-1980) for the #8141 (successor to the #8140) RS-232C/Current Loop Interface. This was an optional plug-in board that added a serial interface or current loop interface to the MX printers of that time, which shipped with only a Centronics parallel interface.

It says it applies to "some types of EPSON MX series dot matrix printers". At the early date that I bought the printer and this interface (November 1981), the MX-80 was the only Epson printer I remember as being available, and there were multiple versions of it around. I believe this board was only compatible with some of the earliest versions. I never owned a subsequent MX-80 that was compatible with this board.

This auction is for the manual only, which I found recently, several months after throwing the board away, which was before I realized there was a market for a vintage equipment on eBay.

Here is the table of contents:

INTRODUCTION
SPECIFICATIONS
CONDITION SETTING OF SERIAL INTERFACE BOARD

(1) Interface Board 8141
(2) Interface Board 8140

INSTALLATION
HARDWARE DESCRIPTION

(1) Connector and Signals
(2) Data Entry
(3) Serial Data Timing Chart
(4) Serial Interface Circuits
(5) Parts Locations
(6) Schematic Diagram

PARTS LIST

Because it has a schematic diagram and parts list, it's conceivable that you could recreate this board from scratch, if you have a truly ancient Epson MX-80 that you're absolutely desperate to use, and only a serial or current loop interface will do. What are the chances of THAT??

You never know! I was once able to rescue a highly useful piece of vintage equipment because I found its manual on eBay. So, You Never Know!.

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Copyright ©2007 Steven Whitney. Last modified 12/25/2007.