New Zealand Vintage Computer Forums

This relates to the machine mentioned in this post:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1125

I finally got around to unboxing this thing to have a look at it. Man, it weighs a TON!! And I thought the IBM AT was heavy!!! Carrying up up the stairs to the computer shack was a health and safety nightmare!

Anyway,I'm pleased to report it seems to work!! I've just had a preliminary look, and haven't tested disk writing or the b: drive. The whole time I had it on I was expecting to hear the pop of a blown capacitor. Not so far though.

The system takes 8 inch disks. This is the first time I've handled these. They are huge and certainy "floppy". Many of the disks were in bad shape with fungi growing on the media. Others seemed ok though, and thankfully this included the boot disk.

Anyway, pictures paint many words so...

That looks amazingly tidy. Do you know anything on its past use? Sure doesn't look like something that was sitting in a computer lab or dingy server room for years.

Shame the condition of the disks isn't as good. How bad is software to find for it?

Yes, it's near museum quality. It's been packed in it's original box for many years.

I'm not sure how easy software is to get for this thing. I imagine there wouldn't be much and even if I could find more, it would have to come on a 8 inch disk.

A lot of disks came with the unit Around 50 or so. These mostly have accounting software and records. There seems to be:

One genuine CP/M boot disk (which seems to work). This also has MBASIC and some games.
BASIC 80
A Panasonic maintenance disk by M.E.C. Ltd (1981)
Panabasic Hire Purchase System
Panabasic Rental Master
Midas Inventory System
Penalty Insurance Interest Charges
Midas Debtors Ledger
A head cleaning disk

Plus a number of data disks for the programs above,

As I said though, many haven't fared too well. Some disks seem ok. Others, not. I should at least try to backup the CP/M disk while I've got the unit unpacked!

With all these classic computers with tiny screens on the left side I've found myself wondering if there's a generation of computer users with permanent crimps in their necks from having to look left all the time.

That's a very tidy machine, nice find.

I was so impressed by this machine, I had to add it to my YouTube video collection.
http://youtu.be/9GUDsYdF23A

tezza wrote:I was so impressed by this machine, I had to add it to my YouTube video collection.
http://youtu.be/9GUDsYdF23A

Glad you did, seeing machines of this vintage is a bit of a treat.