Front panel switches for Altair 8800a and IMSAI 8080
bob bownes
Ok, here's a blast from the past....
I'm trying to get my Altair 8800a & IMSAI 8080 up & running for my
museum of computer archeology. (Coming to a web site near you soon....)
But some bozo busted one of the front panel switches on each one of
them. Seven or eight moves will do that.
Specifically on the IMSAI, the plastic paddle part has broken off. On
the Altair, the handle was broken off.
The Altair switch is a typical C&K/MicroSwitch switch, but with a flat
paddle (I have a drawer full of the round ones...) I've replaced it with
a round one but it just doesn't match. And it irks me.
Anyone know of a source for these pups? Or better yet have one lying
around?
If so, please drop me some email @bow...@emi.com
Thanks,
Bob
Jeffrey W. Shook
bob bownes wrote:
Bob,
I looked in my Imsai 8080 manual but they don't give any information other
than an Imsai part no. for the switch. However in the 1979 Alcoswitch
catalog on page 43 is listed a switch which looks extremely similar and has
a toggle which is the correct width. There are several similar models but
the one listed below seems most likely. I can't open my Imsai at the moment
because a stack of SCSI disks and 8 mm. tape drives connected to the Alpha
workstation are sitting on top of it. But I will look the next time I can
shut the workstation down and let you know what I find.
Switch information:
Alcoswitch MRV-106D-PC-402 SPDT, Red $2.80
Alcoswitch MRV-106D-PC-406 SPDT, Blue $2.80
jws
===========================================
Jeffrey W. Shook
Electronics Shop Supervisor, VMScluster & Network Manager
Chemistry Department, SUNY, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3400
===========================================
Jerry Avins
in the S & K catalog. Ask Herb Johnson, hjoh...@pluto.njcc.com. I
believe he just ordered some, but I don't know where from.
Jerry
--
Remove "X" from the address to reply.
** Notice that my email address has changed to jya...@erols.com. **
You can also use j...@juno.com, but not for attachments.
Engineering is the art of making what you want
from things you can get.
Thomas G. McWilliams
Jerry Avins <jya...@erols.com> wrote:
: Jws's switch may well be an exact match, but I think the switch is still
: in the S & K catalog. Ask Herb Johnson, hjoh...@pluto.njcc.com. I
: believe he just ordered some, but I don't know where from.
This question comes up so often that it truly deserves FAQ status.
Perhaps someone with the definitive part number could submit the
information to the FAQ maintainer.
James Willing
>bob bownes wrote:
>> Ok, here's a blast from the past....
>>
>> I'm trying to get my Altair 8800a & IMSAI 8080 up & running for my
>> museum of computer archeology. (Coming to a web site near you soon....)
>>
>> But some bozo busted one of the front panel switches on each one of
>> them. Seven or eight moves will do that.
>>
>> Specifically on the IMSAI, the plastic paddle part has broken off. On
>> the Altair, the handle was broken off.
>>
>> The Altair switch is a typical C&K/MicroSwitch switch, but with a flat
>> paddle (I have a drawer full of the round ones...) I've replaced it with
>>
>> a round one but it just doesn't match. And it irks me.
>>
>> Anyone know of a source for these pups? Or better yet have one lying
>> around?
>> If so, please drop me some email @bow...@emi.com
>>
I stock OEM replacement switches and paddles for both styles of ALtair
switches, and complete switches and replacement paddles for the IMSAIs.
Prices/details on my web site at www.rdrop.com/~jimw on the "Items/Objects
available" page.
Regards;
-jim
--
---
ji...@agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
Herbert R Johnson
In article <tgmEqq...@netcom.com>,
"Thomas G. McWilliams" <t...@netcom.com> wrote:
*>Jerry Avins <jya...@erols.com> wrote:
*>: Jws's switch may well be an exact match, but I think the switch is still
*>: in the S & K catalog. Ask Herb Johnson, hjoh...@pluto.njcc.com. I
*>: believe he just ordered some, but I don't know where from.
*>
*>This question comes up so often that it truly deserves FAQ status.
*>Perhaps someone with the definitive part number could submit the
*>information to the FAQ maintainer.
*>
I disagree. The FAQ is quite large now, and if the details of every
CP/M computer were added it would be cumbersome. The FAQ lists a number
of "resources" for various machines, individuals or companies: those named
can provide the details. A Web search is also likely to be fruitful.
THe IMSAI and Altair switches are C&K models, incidently. If I have any
for sale, I'll post them on my Web page.
Herb Johnson
**** ------------------------------------------------------ ****
Herbert R. Johnson voice/FAX 609-771-1503 day/nite
hjoh...@pluto.njcc.com Ewing, in central New Jersey, USA
amateur astronomer and astro-tour guide
supporter of classic S-100 computers as "Dr. S-100"
rebuilder of Mac Plus computers for your computing pleasure
and senior engineer and asteroid spotter at Astro Imaging Systems
bill_h
Has Tim Shoppa chimed in on these switches yet? He was ordering some
maybe a year or so ago I think. No?
Bill
Tim Shoppa
In article <352443...@azstarnet.com>, bill_h <bil...@azstarnet.com> wrote:
>Has Tim Shoppa chimed in on these switches yet? He was ordering some
>maybe a year or so ago I think. No?
Yes, I did order a batch of them, and those who got their orders
in by the deadline (it was 30-May-1997) got their switches and caps.
(This was all part of me ordering parts for the prototype TIMSAI
construction.)
Once again, for those who want to order the switches, the C&K part
numbers are:
7101-J4-Z-Q-E (for the non-momentary switches)
and
7105-J4-Z-Q-E (for the momentary switches).
The AC/Memory Protect switch has a different cap code than "J4"; I don't
have the appopriate cap code available at the moment.
The default cap color is black. To order the blue or red colors, I had
to go to a local electronics distributor and have them place the order
directly with C&K. None of the mail-order distributors were interested
in helping me out with a small order of color caps, though Newark and
Digi-Key will sell you the switches with black caps.
Now that my employment situation has recently changed, it's possible that
I'll have enough time to finalize the TIMSAI design and make a small
production run. Would anyone be interested? The TIMSAI front panel
is a IEEE-696 compatible design with the capability to use all 24
address bits and all 16 data bits, and the default color scheme has
blue LED's. If you wanted to think of the design as a JADE Bus Probe
with blue and red switches, you wouldn't be far off (I was heavily
influenced by the JADE Bus Probe, to say the least.) With a modified
front sheet-metal escutcheon, the TIMSAI front panel can be used
to upgrade an original IMSAI, or it can be added to a non-front-panel
S-100/IEEE-696 backplane to give it a front panel. It uses the
traditional plexiglass/black mask/white paper/colored plexiglass
front panel that the original IMSAI used, so custom lettering on the
front panel is easily done.
Tim. (sho...@triumf.ca)