A few vintage things

[JP!]

Just picked up this neat collection of computer accessories and electronic bits which were literally destined for the recycling bin. Going through this stuff I feel like I took a trip back to 1978. Also everything smells old with the pleasant musk of basement mold.

A wealth of knowledge here along with various electronic components for lab use. Heathkit offered a number of electronics related educational courses. These included a final exam which you could mail-in and with a passing grade would receive a certificate.

BD648808-6F6F-479D-9A80-666667D1873F.jpeg (446.69 KiB) Viewed 8624 times

These were sold by Radio Shack as kits for makers of the day.
63 Key ASCII Keyboard - Radio Shack Part No. 275-1422

IMG_8558.jpeg (415.24 KiB) Viewed 8487 times

IMG_8553.jpeg (289.97 KiB) Viewed 8487 times

IMG_8557.jpeg (231.83 KiB) Viewed 8487 times

IMG_8556.jpeg (341.6 KiB) Viewed 8487 times

IMG_8554.jpeg (850.96 KiB) Viewed 8487 times

IMG_8555.jpeg (573.5 KiB) Viewed 8487 times

ASCII Keyboard Encoder Project Board - Radio Shack Part No. 277-177

08B5D13B-D43F-420D-AB7C-84A788FE8FD4.jpeg (544.31 KiB) Viewed 8624 times

1CCE5BB9-F785-4A6E-B6B9-DBECA63D34CA.jpeg (465.8 KiB) Viewed 8624 times

I even managed to find the manual listing the parts needed to fully assemble this.
https://www.bytecollector.com/archive/d ... yboard.pdf

Old Radio Shack ad featuring this kit:

E2C4836F-45CA-44D5-A9B4-501662FB9DFF.jpeg (1023.62 KiB) Viewed 8880 times

Motorola MEK6800D2 - As far as I can tell I have the full kit including both PCBs and ribbon cable.

22A6B40C-35CF-433F-BC42-AB155960D773.jpeg (128.3 KiB) Viewed 8880 times

IMG_8547.jpeg (377.8 KiB) Viewed 8636 times

5888ACFD-7BA4-46DD-A505-19D7AAABBFD3.jpeg (503.93 KiB) Viewed 8623 times

IMG_8549.jpeg (490.05 KiB) Viewed 8636 times

IMG_8548.jpeg (442.15 KiB) Viewed 8636 times

IMG_8550.jpeg (535.12 KiB) Viewed 8636 times

The switches here are Stackpole torsion spring

53B99A99-5582-431C-B57F-BF0FFBAD4AFB.jpeg (500.13 KiB) Viewed 8623 times

[Muirium]

A true time capsule.

I believe “Apple” users (it was only named the Apple 1 retrospectively) were expected to use a keyboard module quite like this. You only got an assembled motherboard from them. Quite the time to be a hobbyist! And here it is, in your hands today.

[Falkenroth]

Nice find. I really like the keyboard kits.

[JP!]

Nice find. I really like the keyboard kits.

Thanks. The Motorola MEK6800D2 is not just a keyboard but an entire microcomputer yet to be assembled! My favorite piece of the collection.

A true time capsule.

I believe “Apple” users (it was only named the Apple 1 retrospectively) were expected to use a keyboard module quite like this. You only got an assembled motherboard from them. Quite the time to be a hobbyist! And here it is, in your hands today.

Maybe one of these days I will stumble on an Apple I

[JP!]

I just unsealed the last box (time capsule) to discover this Heathkit ET-3100 Electronic Design Experimenter.

Here is one of these fully completed:

IMG_8541.jpeg (398.71 KiB) Viewed 8635 times

IMG_8542.jpeg (350.3 KiB) Viewed 8635 times

IMG_8543.jpeg (450.67 KiB) Viewed 8635 times

IMG_8545.jpeg (658.63 KiB) Viewed 8635 times

IMG_8544.jpeg (470.65 KiB) Viewed 8635 times

[JP!]

I recently spotted something neat on eBay I figured I would share. It is the completed keyboard encoder board, the very same as mine. It is fitted into a nice metal framed housing and has the Heep test module installed which functions as an led display to test the keyboard ouput in the absense of a system that accepts ASCII codes.

key1.jpg (329.21 KiB) Viewed 8227 times

key2.jpg (361.67 KiB) Viewed 8227 times

key3.jpg (353.81 KiB) Viewed 8227 times

key5.jpg (332.68 KiB) Viewed 8227 times

[del20nd]

That Tandy board reminds me allot of the stackpole switches that came attached to the original Atari 800. The keycaps look like very similar construction too, with thick doubleshot plastic.

[MathematicalJ]

How cool is that?! Those kits look super fun.