Hardware/Software Preservation and Restoration Stories
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Check out DTSS Revisited in our Vintage Remote Systems. There is a particular kind of loss that haunts computing history. It is not the loss of a machine, machines can be found, restored, coaxed back to life by people patient enough to chase a cold solder joint for three days. It is the loss of...
This BLOG entry features summaries of past events where ICM has participated as an exhibitor. For archives of Interim Computer Festival please visit https://sdf.org/icf Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show 2026 June 5th June 7th, GTCC, Tacoma, WA We were honored to be invited to have a booth at the Northwest Pinball and Arcade...
Saturday October 25th, 2025: The power supply has been replaced with a modern unit. The chassis has an CPU board and a 4K static RAM board. Powering on produced some front panel lights, but no switches seemed to be functioning other then reset. Voltage checks revealed the front panel 5V regulator was putting out about...
Miss Piggy: A Legendary PDP-11/70 at Microsoft Miss Piggy was one of Microsoft’s central computing workhorses in the early 1980s, particularly supporting the End User Applications group responsible for developing key software such as Multiplan, Microsoft Word, and later Excel. It also hosted development tools including the p-code compiler and cross assemblers targeting platforms like the TRS-80.…
We re hosting our first PiDP-11 Build Workshop for a limited number of people. The workshop is geared for beginners with some experience and intermediate kit builders who would like to participate in a guided and explained assembly process. You ll get guidance on soldering practices, assembly techniques, troubleshooting and what you ll be able to do with...
This PDP-11/23+ comes from Earl Evans in Tigard, OR and has been kept in very good condition over the years. Earl had gone through a collection of dozens of RL02 10MB packs and put together a few with TSX and RT11 operating systems. Along with spare boards there is serial line cabling and bulkheads, a...
Boeing News November 14, 1968 In November 1968, Boeing engineers demonstrated to Brigadier General Mahlon E. Gates, Commanding General of the Army’s Sentinel Logistics Command, a hybrid computing system built around a DEC PDP-7A and a Type 340 graphics display. The PDP-7A functioned as an interactive front-end processor, handling light-pen input and real-time display...
KICKI is a dual PDP-10 model KI10 sn 522 and 606. While KICKI is current in preservation, we hope one day to have it running again. As of June 2025 former DEC LCG FE Gary Solomon has confirmed that both 522 and 606 CPUs have a complete module complement with the UML. To support the...
This post documents most of the current exhibits as well as preserves what has been on display and highlights what is new. It is organized as top being the current exhibition organized in groups by area. All exhibits are considered permanent unless noted as a rotating exhibit. Remotely accessible machines are noted as OnLINE. August...
MIT-MC.ARPA was a DECSYSTEM-10 KL10 Model 1080 operated by the MIT MACSYMA Consortium, serving as one of the most significant systems in the development of AI and symbolic computation during the 1970s and early 1980s. Running the Incompatible Timesharing System (ITS), MC provided a uniquely open and collaborative computing environment where many pioneering software systems...
