Hi there. We had one at SFSU in 1980, which sat next to our antique PDP-8 with 64 Kb (max) of magnetic core dynamic RAM. We never had more than 8 working at a time. The IMSAI opened a whole new world for me, and although I finished my BSE at SFSU, I was never employed at Intel, Fairchild, National, or PG&E -- where most of my classmates went. I was convinced that software was my future. I learned to use those switches to load up our programming assignments and execute them right from RAM, in and out of registers A, B, and the PC until we learned how to manage the run time stack. Fred Terman was our classroom teacher -- a very modest and shy man with a famous name, who spent most of his life living in the shadow of his famous father, Dr. Fred Terman of Stanford. Our Dr. Fred Jr. had to endure the faculty's choice of our text book -- his father's latest edition of a classic text, Computer Architecture. Fred was nothing but kind and generous with us all. Our lab assistant and graduate TA was a grad student from Cal Berkeley named Dan Wertheimer, who later became known for his amazing client/server work, SETI@Home, which we all ran on our machines in the 1990s. Dan was another mentor who stayed with SETI from those early days of ad hoc meetings at Barney Oliver's favorite Mexican restaurant on the El Camino in Palo Alto right around the corner from his office at HP Labs. All those guys were very kind to me, and I will always be grateful. I'm enjoying your voyage around the IMSAI. Were you a Homebrew regular? Perhaps we knew each other? I'll be talking to you again. Thanks for the memories.
Beautiful! Thank you for a truly wonderful learning channel!! I am now officially addicted to the IMSAI GUY CHANNEL. 👍🏻 I just bought my first pair of tinySA’s ... easier to place INSIDE my homemade “Faraday Cans” (trash cans & ammo cans for EMP protection of key electronics). It was far easier than trying to stuff my bench SA (Rigol DSA815TG) into the enclosures... and far easier to power them. 😀 Btw .. your microwave experiment was all I needed to see in order to convince myself and family that INSTRUMENTS are far easier to stuff into a microwave oven than the EMI/RFI sensitive FA we had been previously using to test.. (FA = FELINE ANALYZER 🐱) Additionally, it’s much easy to replace a “fried” tinySA if you accidentally turn the microwave oven “on” during testing. The FA units are quite a bit more difficult to replace.... especially once the animal shelters / pet stores become aware of your “special tests” . Additionally, lack of proper and suitable burial space was becoming a concern. Just Kidding!! Of course...(??) 🙄😳😆🤣 Thanks again. Seriously! Rich Great little toys btw!
DEAR PROFESSOR IMSAI GUY. DO YOU STILL READ THESE COMMENTS? I HAVE A LITTLE SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CHANNEL. I recently purchased a test instrument that I no longer have use for. It’s an ANRITSU MT8820c . It’s a “communications analyzer” that was intended to be used in the cellular communications industry. It’s got a bunch of options installed and is a bitch to lift/carry. (50-70lbs according to the UPS shipping info) It’s in excellent shape. It passes all of the self-testing and is is great overall condition, with the exception of a few scratches and a missing handle. (it has a handle, it’s just been removed so it could fit alongside the previous owner’s other bench equipment) I have been improperly advised that it could act as a standalone spectrum analyzer for both analog and TDMA communications... It turns out that I was improperly advised (as always 🙄😳😆). I have a Rigol DSA815TG already and use it for all of my extremely limited needs(tuning duplexers), but thought this would be ideal for future projects and playing as it goes up to 8GHz. A few of my friends, the wealthy ones with cool toys.., have the way more portable and USEFUL Anritsu “site master” portable spectrum analyzers and love them. The Rigol was brand new and around $2k with accessories and carrying bag when I purchased it back in 2016. It paid for itself rather quickly as a bunch of friends and clients needed duplexer tuning. It’s not just to save on labor charges... having a spectrum analyzer (with tracking generator.. A MUST) allows you to learn more about RF, ensure your equipment is properly and painstakingly tuned well, enables you to carry it in the field for quick tasks that would traditionally take a system or repeater off the air while a duplexer or filter had to be removed and taken to the local radio shop. It’s.a beast to pack & ship and I’m sort of limited on the heavy lifting front... But, if I can manage a way to get it out to ‘ya, how much interest do you have? Thanks & 73 RBAD
I've just discovered this channel. Absolutely gonna watch as many videos as I can. Thanks for sharing!
Great, let me know how many you watch in the first year.
sir this subject that your channel it's a treasure for people that love electronic its clear. thanks a lot❤
Hi there. We had one at SFSU in 1980, which sat next to our antique PDP-8 with 64 Kb (max) of magnetic core dynamic RAM. We never had more than 8 working at a time. The IMSAI opened a whole new world for me, and although I finished my BSE at SFSU, I was never employed at Intel, Fairchild, National, or PG&E -- where most of my classmates went. I was convinced that software was my future.
I learned to use those switches to load up our programming assignments and execute them right from RAM, in and out of registers A, B, and the PC until we learned how to manage the run time stack.
Fred Terman was our classroom teacher -- a very modest and shy man with a famous name, who spent most of his life living in the shadow of his famous father, Dr. Fred Terman of Stanford.
Our Dr. Fred Jr. had to endure the faculty's choice of our text book -- his father's latest edition of a classic text, Computer Architecture. Fred was nothing but kind and generous with us all.
Our lab assistant and graduate TA was a grad student from Cal Berkeley named Dan Wertheimer, who later became known for his amazing client/server work, SETI@Home, which we all ran on our machines in the 1990s. Dan was another mentor who stayed with SETI from those early days of ad hoc meetings at Barney Oliver's favorite Mexican restaurant on the El Camino in Palo Alto right around the corner from his office at HP Labs. All those guys were very kind to me, and I will always be grateful.
I'm enjoying your voyage around the IMSAI. Were you a Homebrew regular? Perhaps we knew each other?
I'll be talking to you again. Thanks for the memories.
What a beauty, spectacular, awesome machine you have!! I'm saving money in order to have one IMSAI 8080 one day.
Beautiful!
Thank you for a truly wonderful learning channel!!
I am now officially addicted to the IMSAI GUY CHANNEL. 👍🏻
I just bought my first pair of tinySA’s ... easier to place INSIDE my homemade
“Faraday Cans” (trash cans & ammo cans for EMP protection of key electronics).
It was far easier than trying to stuff my bench SA (Rigol DSA815TG) into the enclosures...
and far easier to power them. 😀
Btw .. your microwave experiment was all I needed to see in order to convince myself and family
that INSTRUMENTS are far easier to stuff into a microwave oven than the EMI/RFI sensitive FA
we had been previously using to test.. (FA = FELINE ANALYZER 🐱)
Additionally, it’s much easy to replace a “fried” tinySA if you accidentally turn the microwave oven
“on” during testing. The FA units are quite a bit more difficult to replace.... especially once the
animal shelters / pet stores become aware of your “special tests” . Additionally, lack of proper
and suitable burial space was becoming a concern.
Just Kidding!! Of course...(??) 🙄😳😆🤣
Thanks again. Seriously!
Rich
Great little toys btw!
Would be cool to have a modern PC in a similar form factor, could probably have the CPU on a PCI-e board or something
Is there a place where I can download the PCB's and I can send them out to be made? like pcbway or jlcpcb?
no
www.s100computers.com/index.html
DEAR PROFESSOR IMSAI GUY.
DO YOU STILL READ THESE COMMENTS?
I HAVE A LITTLE SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CHANNEL.
I recently purchased a test instrument that I no longer have use for.
It’s an ANRITSU MT8820c . It’s a “communications analyzer” that was intended to be used in the
cellular communications industry.
It’s got a bunch of options installed and is a bitch to lift/carry. (50-70lbs according to the UPS shipping info)
It’s in excellent shape. It passes all of the self-testing and is is great overall condition, with the exception of
a few scratches and a missing handle. (it has a handle, it’s just been removed so it could fit alongside the
previous owner’s other bench equipment)
I have been improperly advised that it could act as a standalone spectrum analyzer for both analog and TDMA
communications... It turns out that I was improperly advised (as always 🙄😳😆). I have a Rigol DSA815TG
already and use it for all of my extremely limited needs(tuning duplexers), but thought this would be ideal for future
projects and playing as it goes up to 8GHz. A few of my friends, the wealthy ones with cool toys.., have the
way more portable and USEFUL Anritsu “site master” portable spectrum analyzers and love them.
The Rigol was brand new and around $2k with accessories and carrying bag when I purchased it back in 2016.
It paid for itself rather quickly as a bunch of friends and clients needed duplexer tuning.
It’s not just to save on labor charges... having a spectrum analyzer (with tracking generator.. A MUST)
allows you to learn more about RF, ensure your equipment is properly and painstakingly tuned well,
enables you to carry it in the field for quick tasks that would traditionally take a system or repeater off the air
while a duplexer or filter had to be removed and taken to the local radio shop.
It’s.a beast to pack & ship and I’m sort of limited on the heavy lifting front...
But, if I can manage a way to get it out to ‘ya, how much interest do you have?
Thanks & 73
RBAD
Thanks for the offer but I don't think I can really use the functionality of that box
I worry about the old TIN / Lead Solder Junking up and out, Me resenting all the socked and all DIP-Scoket's ..
Thanks for the trip Sherm.