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[kats]

I've wondered why it is necessary to maintain these old things and why there hasn't been some kind of aftermarket upgrade to these relics.  

[ssltech]

Can't make money selling them.

The hardware interface is too specific, and there's no 'one-size-fits-all' aspect to it... different installations have different channel numbers, etc.

Plus, the SSL software was pretty much the dogs bollocks back in the day. -Coming up with something better (you can't just clone it) is never going to be cheap!

Keith

[sodderboy]

The number of 4,5,6, K consoles made is below 300, so do the math.

The processing is a piece of cake, so do you keep the 20+ year old I/O cards and write new code for the dodgy racks or make new I/O racks as well?  There are tried and true industrial systems that could adapt without monumental effort as the Z80 was the automated assembly line workhorse for over a decade, but then do you replace ribbons, KVM, etc?

It would be nice just to tell that confounded SCART video output to KMA, but at what cost?  And who knows what "A Day at the Beach" might look like at a higher resolution?  Could be scary.

Find the Bell Labs geeks behind the ATT Core console, and you would get a real insider perspective.  They cracked TR to operate a digital console.
Mike

[guy_4]

" The number of 4,5,6, K consoles made is below 300"

Do you rather mean 3000 ?

Guy

[ssltech]

Gotta be MORE than 1,000.

I remember the 1,000th console (a 4k) being installed.

Keith

[industrial arts]

Sometimes it's not a matter of money, but a matter of interest and initiative.

That being said, can some one help me locate the floppy drive controller schematics - either 8" or 3.5"?


Mark Springer
industrial arts

[dB Sound Design]

I have the floppy controller schemo i am pretty sure. some of these cards have been removed as the 3.5" upgrade is fed directly off of the 4/100 processor. I actually have a floppy controller card or 2 in the shop here as well.

On a previous note. I am working on a USB flash drive replacement for the 8" 3.5" bernoulli It can be built rather easily, within 3-4 months. I am trying to gauge interest in the product. It will allow the program to boot and operate from flash drive write and copy etc. using the original software. i think a realistic cost for this product can be achieved if i can sell a dozen or so to start. It would obviously be a lot more useful if it could cross platform to the 9K, but that is a whole other can o worms any takers that you know of. please PM.

[sodderboy]

I stand corrected.  I spoke with someone at SSL and my number is for J and K 9K's.
There were around 1,500 4,5,6K's sold over a 27 year period.
Mike
PS: love the flash drive idea!

[nicpope]

dB Sound Design wrote on Thu, 10 February 2011 02:51

I have the floppy controller schemo i am pretty sure. some of these cards have been removed as the 3.5" upgrade is fed directly off of the 4/100 processor. I actually have a floppy controller card or 2 in the shop here as well. On a previous note. I am working on a USB flash drive replacement for the 8" 3.5" bernoulli It can be built rather easily, within 3-4 months. I am trying to gauge interest in the product. It will allow the program to boot and operate from flash drive write and copy etc. using the original software. i think a realistic cost for this product can be achieved if i can sell a dozen or so to start. It would obviously be a lot more useful if it could cross platform to the 9K, but that is a whole other can o worms any takers that you know of. please PM.

How much is realistic? I'd buy the crap out of one of these for our 4056e.

[kats]

I'd buy into the flash drive idea if the price was reasonable.