The IBM Personal Computer XT 5160 from 1983 is one of the most iconic computers in the collection and one of the only desktop computers. This was the second Personal Computer from IBM after the initial PC 5150 from 1981. Personally I think the 5160 is much more usable because of the 8 ISA ports instead of 5, a power supply with twice the power output but mostly because of the build in hard disk drive. After purchasing the computer I was lucky enough to acquire the 5151 monochrome 12″ green monitor to make the setup complete together with an original Model F ‘XT’ keyboard. A color monitor model 5153 was also available but personally I think the green phosphor glow looks much better.

This post is not supposed to be about the IBM Personal Computer itself or the technical details but more about the setup around it. While searching information about the IBM XT 5160 I came across advertising for the computer featuring the Charlie Chaplin character Little Tramp portrayed by the actor Billy Scudder. What really caught my attention was the elegance of the complete setup with the computer, monitor and keyboard placed on a round white table together with a chair in a similar design. A small detail was a red rose in a small white vase. I was so fascinated by this little and recognizable setup that I had to investigate further about it. Ultimately because I wanted to recreate this setup for my own computer if it was able to recognize the items and later find them for sale.

TABLE

I started to search online for a round white table, where a lot of different designs came up, just not anyone in the same elegant design with the nice thin tabletop and curved center leg. After a lot of research I found out the table was designed by Eero Saarinen, called the Tulip table and sold by a company called Knoll. I didn’t found any tables for sale at the regular second hand places but by pure luck some time later I found the lower part just without the tabletop, placed at the sidewalk meant for bulky waste collection. It wasn’t in the best condition it had some scratches and marks. But I wouldn’t argue about the price. Then I just had to find or make the tabletop. I ended up buying another round table where I could repurpose the tabletop which measured 90 cm, close enough to the 91 cm of the original small version of the table. I think this is the correct size compared to pictures found online. Sometimes the computer and monitor is shown standing next to each other and fits within the circumference. An important detail of the tabletop is that it has a reverse chamfer. I used a handheld router and build a jig to cut a wide edge off the underside and sanded it down until it felt smooth. The last thing was to paint the table and mount it with screws on top of the center leg.

CHAIR

Tracking down the model of the chair when I knew both the designer and model name of the table was a lot easier. The chair is called Tulip chair. It comes in different versions with or without integrated armrests and with or without back cushion. The chair itself is only available in white but the cushions comes in different colors. There wasn’t any chairs for sale when I searched online for both Eero, Knoll or Tulip. But after some random browsing I found a single chair for sale on Marketplace for 400 DKK listed as an unknown design. I bought it the same day since I was afraid it would be sold because of the low price. It came with a red cushion, which I really appreciate since this seems like the most popular color and has a great contrast to all the white. I also like the detail that the chair was considered Space Age when it was released because of its futuristic curvy design and the use of artificial materials.

ROSE IN A VASE

A small but very important detail is the rose in the tall white vase. The red color is a perfect match to the red cushion on the chair. The rose is just a plastic one that looks like the one you can win in a tivoli shooting competition. The vase however was so much harder to find. Online there was just way too many different kinds to choose from and without a known brand it was very slowly to search through. I made it a habit to scout for the right design everytime I came by a second hand store, and then finally I found one. I’m not sure it is a 100% match but it looks very much like it. It has the same round bottom and it curve outwards at the top, it’s just a little to low.

MISSING MANUALS

The last thing I’m missing is the stack of manuals. Below is a list of the manuals that I would like to add to the setup. The only place I have seen them for sale is on eBay and they are not cheap. Especially not if you have to buy them separately and include taxes and shipping each time.

• Guide to Operations Personal Computer XT
• Technical Reference
• Hardware Maintenance and Service Vol. 1-3
• BASIC
• DOS Technical Reference

I can really recommend https://minuszerodegrees.net/ where you can browse through a lot of documentation about the IBM 5160 XT and similar computers like IBM 5140 Convertible, 5150 PC, 5155 Portable PC and 5170 AT.

GALLERY

LINKS

• Charlie Chaplin, computer salesman
• IBM Personal Computer

Indlægget IBM Personal Computer Setup blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.

DESCRIPTION

The OmniGo 700LX is a strange bastard. Inside you will find a 200LX Palmtop PC running a DOS compatible system on a 80186 compatible CPU. The external PCMCIA port has been modified with an extra internal one for the Nokia Cellular Data Card that enables communication with the Nokia 2110 GSM mobile phone that can be slided into the top of the device. The connection with the Nokia 2110 enables the palmtop to add functionality like data, fax and sms.

The external appearance is, to put it mildly, obscure. It looks very bulky and enormous compared to the small and elegant 200LX palmtop. Because of the Nokia phone outside it has a very similar look compared to the Nokia 9000 Communicator – a small LCD, physical keys and the external antenna. The Nokia 9000 Communicator was also the main reason why the OmniGo 700LX never got popular. It came out just under a year after and packed similar features in a relative smaller, lighter and more elegant design. At that time the Nokia 2110 would start to become obsolete making the OmniGo 700LX a short-term investment to buy.

This is pure speculations from my side but I think the idea to the OmniGo 700LX must have come from someone at HP using their 200LX with the Nokia PCMCIA card connected to their Nokia phone and found it a bit messy and annoyed having the PCMCIA slot always in use with the Nokia without possibility of using other cards at the same time. They then reached out to Nokia asking them to help integrate the setup in a new model. At the same time Nokia had been working on their own solutions to this in the form of the first Nokia Communicator. They must have known at the time of design that the OmniGo 700LX was a bad idea.

RELEVANCE

One of my main fascinations about collecting vintage computers and palmtops is models that show the development and strange form factors. This model has to be on the top 3 of most strange form factors I have in my collection. A mobile phone plugged directly into a palmtop pc that looks more like a design study or prototype than a finished product.

The HP OmniGo 700LX ended up as a total failure since Nokia revealed its Nokia 9000 Communicator at the time of shipment.

GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

Indlægget Hewlett Packard OmniGo 700LX blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.

OLPC – One Laptop Per Child, also known a the $100 laptop, was a non-profit initiative that had a goal of suppling educational devices for children in the developing world with cheap and accessible computing resources in the form of a small laptop with included software. The OLPC XO-1 was a low-cost and low-power laptop that looked like nothing else compared to how a typical laptop was designed. When my daughter first saw the laptop sitting on my workbench she called it a Shrek computer because of the bright green color and the unfolded Wi-Fi antennas looking like the ears of Shrek.

Even though the computer has limited processing resources it comes with a color display, Wi-Fi, stereo speakers, touchpad, spill resistance keyboard, web-camera, rotating screen that makes it a tablet and with a build-in handle in a rugged design. This computer only comes with a standard 230V power adapter to charge the computer. Another way to charge it was through a solar panel or a hand operated generator.

RELEVANCE

This laptop is interesting because everything about it is different compared to a normal laptop. It looks very much like a child’s computer because of the bright green color and it looks very plastic and rubber like. It’s funny because of the form factor with a build in handle like the Tulip E-Go or the Toughbook a feature you only see on rugged laptops. XO-1 is unique and no one since it has tried to build something similar.

GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

Indlægget OLPC XO-1 blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.

DESCRIPTION

The Micro-Professor MPF-1 is a training system designed to teach the fundamentals of machine code and assembly language for the Zilog Z80 microprocessor. A training system was typically used by students within computer science or by designers that wanted to design a computer around a specific microprocessor.
The MPF-1 is known as a Single Board Computer because all the components like, CPU, RAM, ROM, I/O etc. is located on the same printed circuit board.
The ROM on this B version is loaded with a BASIC interpreter and a simple monitor program. A program could be entered through the keyboard or loaded through the audio interface connected to a cassette player.
This embedded system is an early predecessor to todays Arduino and Raspberry Pi embedded computers. The biggest difference is that all the functionality is merged into a single chip instead of dedicated hardware for CPU, RAM, ROM, I/O etc.

RELEVANCE

The MPF-1 is an iconic Z80 based development board among the earliest single board computers only beaten by based 8080 Intel SDK-80 1975, 6502 based KIM-1 1976 MC68000 Educational Computer 1981.
It’s a funny little computer in a box with integrated display and keyboard.
This computer is relevant because it shows the basic element of a computer and is an early predecessor to embedded controllers like Arduino, Raspberry Pi or similar.

GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

Indlægget Micro-Professor MPF-1B blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.

DESCRIPTION

In the mid 90s IBM was into the Thin Client business, first known as the Network Station but renamed in 2000 to be included in the NetVista branch and withdrawn in 2002.
A thin client is a simple network connected computer that is optimized for a remote connection with a server. The server is responsible for the hard work like processing power, data storage and software execution. The thin client can be seen as a way of connecting the keyboard, mouse and display to the network.
Thin clients are a further development of the multi-user computer terminals connected to mainframes of the past but instead of the text based terminals thin clients was extended with a graphical user interface.
The IBM N2200 has connections for a VGA display, two USB ports for mouse and keyboard, sound input and output and then the network connection for the server. This makes it possible for the user to make a remote connection into the server where all the needed software is installed, all files are kept, and the server does all the calculation. The nice thing about a system like this is that a thin client can be based on cheap and low end hardware, data is protected because it is not stored locally and it is simpler for a system administrator to manage the software installations.

RELEVANCE

I used to be very fascinated by simplicity of thin clients back when they were a thing. They were often used on schools, libraries and similar places. When I stumbled upon this IBM Thin Client I just wanted to have it, even though I’m not even sure if it can be used for anything useful as a stand alone device.
The design is very typical IBM in the black and edgy manner. The front design share similarities with IBM NetVista desktop computers as well as the IBM eServer xSeries e.g. the model 205.

GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

Indlægget IBM NetVista N2200 Model 8363 blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.

DESCRIPTION

The Epson HX-20 is considered to be the first real laptop computer or at least the first notebook sized portable computer that runs on internal batteries. It has the same size as a block of A4 printing paper and fits inside a briefcase. Despite the small size it has a full size keyboard and keys with a long travel distance. The downside, however, is that the display is crammed in-between the printer, microcassette drive and keyboard. This means that this computer is among those with the smallest display.

The computer was available in silver and beige color. In my opinion the silver version looks so much better and more hi-tech than the beige that looks cheaper and plastic-like.

The Tandy Model 100 used the same form factor as the HX-20 but with a much larger display.

The PX-8 was a later laptop from Epson that succeeded the HX-20. It incorporated a larger display with 8 lines with 80 columns. It kept the microcassette drive and a similar keyboard. OS was changed to CP/M-80.

RELEVANCE

A laptop computer with a built-in printer is not something you see everyday, unless you own a IBM ThinkPad 555BJ or a Canon Notejet. This computer also include a built-in microcassette drive. Those two features make this little notebook very unique and recognizable among others.

GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

PURCHASE

This computer was one of the first I bought on eBay. Once in a while they showed up on DBA but not with a price tag that I was willing to accept. The computer was sold as untested and came without the power supply.
After I had this computer for a while another HX-20, in beige, showed up on eBay at a reasonable price because it didn’t work and was in a cosmetic bad condition. The reason I wanted it was because it came with a plastic carrying case and also included the H20EU expansion module.

RESTORATION AND MODIFICATION

After some testing of both computers I found out that the mainboard in the silver version seemed to be dead while the mainboard in the beige version seemed to work ok. So I took the working mainboard and mounted it in the silver one. But kept the original ROM chips and mounted them in the working mainboard since I wanted to make sure that the system stayed English instead of the French beige computer.
I haven’t played a lot with it after the “brain transplantation” because it keeps going into something TRAP! error state that I’m not completely sure about. Maybe I just have to look into the manual and learn about how to use it and to test some software on it. This is also the reason why I can’t confirm if the microcassette or printer works.

LINKS

• Wikipedia
• Epson HX-20 Programs
• Epson HX-20 Operations Manual
• Actual size commercial from Byte Magazine
• Old Crap – detailed teardown images

Indlægget Epson HX-20 blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.

DESCRIPTION

This special desktop computer was the first in the VIA Artigo series. It is based on the EPIA PX10000G Pico-ITX motherboard. RAM is mounted in a slot at the underside of the mainboard and the hard drive beneath that. It came as a builder kit without RAM, hard drive or operating system. It has an internal power distribution board converting the 12V to the different voltages needed for the motherboard.

RELEVANCE

When the Artigo A1000 was released it was one of the smallest x86 desktop computers. The design is very attractive with the piano black finish and the fact that it can be mounted inside a regular desktop computer in one of the optical drive bays or as a car computer.
From a time before the Raspberry Pi and similar single board computers the idea about a computer this size was almost unimageable. It could be used as a regular desktop computer, a small media center or as the brain of a robot.

GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

Indlægget VIA Artigo A1000 Pico-ITX blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.

DESCRIPTION

Amstrad NC200 is the successor to the NC100(LINK) and came out a year after it. It includes many upgrades but much of the design and software looks much the same.

Even though the form factor has changed from notebook to clamshell many of the design elements looks much the same. Especially the keyboard looks exactly the same. By making the display fold down over the keyboard there is room for the larger screen and it also better protected now. The extra thickness makes room for the added diskette drive and the needed battery upgrade to C cells in order to power the diskette drive and the backlight.

Amstrad continuous with their user friendly design both on the hardware side with colored keys for shortcuts and a bold font on the keys to make them more readable. To me it makes the computer looks a little childish. The software side is also very user friendly with the large graphic and the menus that is easy to navigate through for a computer novice. For the advanced user a secret menu can be found including many “Function + letter” shortcuts.

RELEVANCE

To me this computer is very interesting because I had the NC100 when I was a teenager. When I searched for information I saw the pictures of the much nicer NC200 with its huge display and more advanced software.

The form factor of the computer reminds me of the small handheld computers and PDAs with their wide displays like HP 95LX(LINK) and Journada 720(LINK). This one is just much bigger and does not look like any other laptop.

GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

Indlægget Amstrad NC200 Notebook blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.

DESCRIPTION

The computer is originally made by Kyocera, Japan and called Kyocera 85. Later the rights was sold to Tandy Corporation which sold it through their Radio Shack stores. It became very popular and sold more than 6 million units.
The platform was also used in the Olivetti M-10 which has a nice flipping display and the NEC PC-8201 and PC-8300 which have a different keyboard layout.

The computer was very popular among journalist and other people that needed to write text on the go. The small form factor also made it popular in science laboratories as a programming terminal for controlling measuring equipment through RS-232. It can be powered around 20 hours by normal AA batteries that can easily be swapped.

It contains a version of Microsoft BASIC 80 in ROM where part of the code was written by Bill Gates himself. Other programs include a terminal program, an address and phone book, a to-do-list and a text editor.

The model 100 was followed by a model 102 that was almost identical but 1/2 inch thinner and one pound lighter. This could be done by changing from through hole components to surface mounted devices. Later it was succeeded by the Tandy 200 that had a much bigger display that could be flipped up as a regular laptop.

RELEVANCE

It is one of the first computers in the notebook style form factor that included a large display, full-size keyboard and build in replaceable batteries. All that in a the same size as a block of A4 printing paper.

Compared to computers of similar form factor like Epson HX-20(LINK), Amstrad NC100(LINK) and Cambridge Z88(LINK) it had the largest physical screen with a high resolution and the best keyboard. That made it great for writing text.

GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

Indlægget Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 blev først udgivet på Daths Garage.