Latest Additions
Some of our latest additions are shown below - clicking on the link will take you to the items main page and will also show any further photographs.
Atari Game Controller (Alamogordo Atari Dig)
This controller is one that was dug up from the Alamogordo, New Mexico desert.
The 'Atari Tomb' is a landfill site in the New Mexico desert full of Atari games, peripherals and other stock. The story surrounding it became one of the great myths of the gaming industry.
In 1983, the young videogame industry in North America collapsed. One of the reasons for this was saturation of the market. Atari, one of the giants of the industry, was left with a mountain of unsold and returned stock as consumers lost confidence in gaming. This useless stock was dumped in a landfill site near Alamogordo, New Mexico, beginning in September 1983.
The games industry quickly recovered and became an entertainment giant. Soon, Atari items of this vintage became desirable, and myths spread about what lost treasures might be buried in the Tomb. The amount of speculation led to some doubt as to whether the burial site even existed.
In April 2014, an excavation took place as part of the production of a documentary on the topic. Some 1,300 cartridges were excavated out of an estimated 728,000, and other items such as peripherals were also recovered. They have become symbols of the early days of the gaming industry.
Solidisk PC Plus
80168 second processor for the BCC Master 128. Unusually mounted in an external enclosure.
The Magnus Connection
A computer resource pack for the offshore oil industry. Part of the Microelectronics Education Programme by BP Educational Service. Includes VHS tape, card reader, ID cards, keyboard overlays, and resource pack.
ACP 08 Disk Interface
This disk interface for the Acorn Electron was produced in 1986 by Advanced Computer Products.
Pre-printed Port-a-Punch Cards
These 80-column punched cards are pre-printed with the locations for IBM alphanumeric code punches. Intended for use in teaching environments.
Matrox Rainbow Runner
This daughterboard expansion for the Matrox Mystique graphics card adds extra hardware to enable high-resolution Motion JPEG video capture and editing. It also has a composite TV-out connector and hardware MPEG1 decoder for full-screen video playback.
Pictured here attahced to the Matrox Mystique graphics card.
Home-made Acorn Atom ROM Switcher
This home-made expansion box for the Acorn Atom allows the user to switch between multiple ROMs at the press of a button.
Linux Gaming Computer
This Linux-based touch-screen computer was originally designed in the US for the Chuck E Cheese franchies. It was brought over to the UK in order to seek venture funding from Amadeus Group.
Sun Ultra 1
The Ultra 1 is a family of Sun Microsystems workstations based on the 64-bit UltraSPARC microprocessor. It was the first model in the Sun Ultra series of Sun computers, which succeeded the SPARCstation series. It launched in 1995 and shipped with Solaris 2.5. It is capable of running other operating systems such as Linux and BSD.
The Ultra 1 was available in a variety of different specifications. Three different CPU speeds were available - 143 MHz (Model 140), 167 MHz (Model 170) and 200 MHz (Model 200). The Ultra 1 Creator3D 170E launched in November 1995 with a list price of US$27,995.
Newbury 7003 Terminal
This terminal from Newbury Laboratories Ltd is designed to connect to computers over an RS-232 serial link. An optional local printer can be connected to create hard copy.
EG3008 Video Genie II System
EG3008 Video Genie System - Third Version
Video Genie (or simply Genie) was the name given to a series of computers produced by Hong Kong-based manufacturer EACA during the early 1980s. They were compatible with the Tandy TRS-80 Model I computers and could be considered a clone although there were hardware and software differences.
The computers making up the series were
* Video Genie System (EG3003 - first version, early/mid 1980)
* Video Genie System (EG3003 - second version, late 1980) - our unit
* Genie I (EG3003 - third version, late 1981)
* Genie II (EG3008 - late 1981)
* Genie III (EG3200 - mid 1982) - a more business-oriented machine with CP/M-compatibility.
Although Video Genie was the name used in Western Europe, the machines were sold under different names in other countries. In Australia and New Zealand they were known as the Dick Smith System 80 MK I (EG3003) and System 80 MK II (EG3008). In North America they were sold as the PMC-80 and PMC-81.
Features
CPU: Zilog Z80, at 1.76 MHz
Video: Monochrome
64x16 / 32x16 uppercase text
128x48 block graphics
Composite video output, cable included
RF tv signal output, cable included
16 KB RAM, expandable to 48 KB
12 KB ROM containing Microsoft LEVEL II BASIC
Storage: Built in 500 baud cassette deck
Cable for using an external cassette deck included
Built in powersupply
The EG 3008 is complete with:
EG 100 Monitor
EG 3013 Expander
EG 400 Disk drive unit
British Antarctic Survey "Micro" (caseless)
We are grateful to Michael Pinnock of the British Antarctic Survey for the following description of this exhibit:
A custom-made microcomputer used by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) on its Antarctic research stations, ships, aircraft, and its Cambridge research institute. It was primarily designed for controlling and logging data from experiments (e.g. automatic weather stations, airborne geophysics, shipborne oceanography) but could also be used for data and text processing.
Its design evolved in the early 1980's (1980-1982) and some 25 of them were produced by 1985. The last unit was taken out of service in 2003 - at that time it was still reliably logging geomagnetic field data at BAS's Halley research station.
Based around a Motorola 6809 processor, it ran the Flex operating system.
The design owes much to the rapidly evolving Cambridge microcomputer scene in the early 1980's, e.g. the first processor board used was an Acorn Atom design, although later units had a custom made processor board.
Additional design details from Jim Turton:
The BAS micro was indeed spawned from the SWTPC and Flex. However the hardware was more similar to the CMS (Cambridge Microprocessor Systems) board, which was a single board 6809 computer that also ran Flex DOS. This was also inspired by the Acorn Atom single boards around at the time. Acorn mostly used the 6502 processor - later used in the BBC Micro, but it did make a 6809 version. Although Acorn never used Flex like CMS. Essentially we cribbed this idea to design our own 19 inch card frame board. We designed the hardware and it was laid out on PCB by one Arthur Bartrum of 'Batvale' in Sutton. The processor board had 6809 processor and 8k of static memory plus address decoding only. We also developed our own bootstrap monitor which had some powerful debugging features. Additional cards had an ACIA (6851) serial port (for RS232) terminal comms, a PIA (6820) for a parallel printer port and a PIA for disc interface. Other cards had vaarious custom interfaces such as ADC's and DAC's for experiment interfacing.
For the printer we used the Epson RX80 dot matrix printer then the FX80 (or the other way round). The system supported two 5.25in floppy drives. One for the Flex DOS and programs and the other for data.
Intel 16/4 MCA Token Ring Adapter
This Intel MicroChannel adapter allows you to connect a PS/2 computer to a TokenRing network.
Sound to Light Converter
This board was designed by Mike Cook and converts signals from the BBC Micro's cassette cable to signals which can be read from the user port. From there software would convert the data into colour visuals on screen. Originally published in The Micro User Body Build series.
Hom-made ZX80 Memory Expansion
This home-made memory expansion is designed to connect to the Sinclair ZX80.
Pioneer UC-V109BC Barcode Scanner
This barcode reader is designed to connect to a Pioneer Laserdisc player to control which audio tracks and video sequences play.
Answer Box 100
This barcode scanner is designed to connect to a Laserdisc player and allows the user to control it by scanning barcodes. The player can be commanded to play a series of frames, switch audio tracks, or turn the video on/off.
Our Answer Box 100 is packaged as part of 'An Interactive Videodisc package for Initial Teacher Trainers' published by 'The Technical & Vocational Educational Intiative'. This package also includes a Laserdisc and two copies of the supporting book.
Philip harris DL plus
The DL plus enables you to view, record, display, and store data collected from Philip harris First Sene or Blue Box sensors.
Whilst connected to the computer it wil gather data as a interface. More powerfully, whilst away from the computer it will record in a variety of ways, allow you to view the data graphically or in a tabular form, and store sets of data for loading into a computer later.
Apple IEEE-488 Interface Card
This expansion card for the Apple II allowed it to connect to an IEEE-488 (GBIP) network.
Apple II language Card
The Apple Language Card was designed by Wendell Sander, and was one of the first Apple cards available for the Apple II. it was released in 1979 with the Apple Pascal Language system. The Language Card provided an Autostart ROM F8 to earlier Apple systems that did not have the F8 boot ROM installed, allowing an Apple II to boot from a Disk Drive; and also provided an extra 16K of RAM to a fully expanded 48K Apple to bring the total memory available to 64k.
Saturn Systems Accelerator II
This expansion card for the Apple II accelarates operation of software by using a high-speed 6502 processor and on-board high-speed RAM. Once activated, software runs on the board - the Apple II's original processor is left idle. The DIP-switches configure slot access speed and timing.
Hawk 3210 Logic Analyzer
This logic analyzer by Hawk is designed to connect to the Apple II computer. Up to four analyzer 'pods' can be connected. It connects to the computer using a GBIB connector. The interface card contains software in ROM to operate the analyzer.
Compaq LTE Elite 4/75CX
The Compaq LTE was a line of laptop computers made by Compaq, introduced in 1989. The first models, the Compaq LTE and the Compaq LTE 286, were among the first computers to be close to the size of a paper notebook, spurring the use of the term "notebook" to describe a smaller laptop. They were also among the first to include both built-in hard disk and floppy disk drives, offering performance comparable to then-current desktop machines.
The LTE Elite series had an easily removable hard drive for data security purposes.
Compaq LTE Elite 4/40CX
The Compaq LTE was a line of laptop computers made by Compaq, introduced in 1989. The first models, the Compaq LTE and the Compaq LTE 286, were among the first computers to be close to the size of a paper notebook, spurring the use of the term "notebook" to describe a smaller laptop. They were also among the first to include both built-in hard disk and floppy disk drives, offering performance comparable to then-current desktop machines.
The LTE Elite series had an easily removable hard drive for data security purposes.
Google Glass
Google Glass is an optical head-mounted display, that is designed in the shape of a pair of eyeglasses. It was developed by Janco van der Merwe with the mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displayed information in a smartphone-like hands-free format. Wearers communicated with the Internet via natural language voice commands. Google started selling a prototype of Google Glass to qualified "Glass Explorers" in the US on April 15, 2013, for a limited period for $1,500, before it became available to the public on May 15, 2014.
Toshiba Libretto 100CT
The Libretto110CT is a subnotebook computer designed and produced by Toshiba. Its squeezed a full Windows PC into a device the size of a paperback book. The first Libretto model, the Libretto 20, was released on April 17, 1996 (in Japan only), with a volume of 821cm (50.1cu in) and weighing just 840g (30oz), making it by far, the world's smallest commercially available Windows PC at the time, and a trend the Libretto Range continued for many years. The original Libretto line was discontinued in Europe and the U.S. in 1999, but the production continued in Japan with the SS, FF and then the L series until 2002. The first L series Libretto (The L1) was released on 18 May 2001 (in Japan only) and the last (The L5) just 11 Months later on 24 April 2002. Production of all Librettos ceased from 2002 until the release of the Libretto U100 in 2005.
The 100 model featured an Intel Pentium 166 MHz MMX, 32 MB RAM (expandable to 64 MB max), 2.1 GB hard disk, and a 7.1" TFT display.
Model number PA1254E, with I/O adaptor CAB0356A.
NCR C446 Core Memory
Text from PCB:
800-0005227
PRC 800-0005229
ASSY 800-0006040
ASSY 800-0006059
REGISTER
XT-IDE Rev 03 Kit
The XT-IDE is a modern 8-bit ISA expansion card designed to allow IBM-compatible machines with an 8-bit ISA bus to use modern 16-bit IDE hard disk drives. Revision 03 was produced in 2016 and removes several infrequently-used features from the previous revision, including the serial port and molex power connector.
Boards were available in built or kit form. This kit has not been assembled.
More details on the XT-IDE project can be found at:
Research Machines Disc Controller
This expansion board allows a Research Machines RM380Z computer to control two 5.25" disk drives.
Wyse Winterm SX0 (model S30)
The Wyse SX0 is a small, lightweight thin client. It has a single serial port and lacks any PS/2 ports. There are two USB ports at the front and two USB ports on the rear. It is available in a number of configurations which is reflected in the product ID: S10/S30/S50/S90. Specifications:
- Processor
- AMD Geode GX500 (366MHz)
- Memory
- 64MB Flash, 128MB RAM
- Video
- CS5536 chip (1600 x 1200 16-bit colour)
- Ports
- Network, USB, Serial, Parallel, PS/2, 10/100 Ethernet
- Dimensions
- W x H x D: 17.5cm x 3cm x 12.5cm
Gravis UltraSound
This 16-bit ISA expansion card from Advanced Gravis Computer Technology Ltd features:
- 16-bit 44.1kHz CD quality sound.
- 32 multi-timbral digital and/or synthesized voices.
- Windows 3.1 Multimedia extensions support.
- Wave table synthesis.
- 8-bit digital recording with sample rates from 4 to 44.1kHz in either mono or stereo. Seperate circuits allow for simultaneous recording and playback.
- Standard MPU-401/UART MIDI interface supports MIDI in/out/passthru (with optional cable).
- Speed compensating joystick game port.
- Built-in 4 watt amplifier.
- 256K onboard memory, expandable to 1MB with standard DRAM chips.
- Optional CD-ROM interfaces for LMSI, Sony, Mitsumi, SCSI drives.
Analog Input Card
This 8-bit analogue input card is effectively a PC joystick expansion card. The four joystick analog inputs are implemented using a pair of 555 timers. The timer is started by a read from the CPU which then polls the card until it signals the timer has expired. The delay depends on the value of the analogue input and the values of the Rc network attached to the 555 chip.
Amstrad PC3286 386 Daughterboard
This daughterboard adds an Intel 80386 processor to the Amstrad PC3286.
Amstrad PC3286 286 Daughterboard
This daughterboard adds an Intel 80286 processor to the Amstrad PC3286.
Indescomp Parallel/Serial Interface
This interface which is easily connected to the Spectrum expansion port provides two communication methods: prallel Centronics and the bidirectional RS232-C series.
The two communication methods can be connected simultaneously to two different pieces of equipment, such as a printer and a modem.
The softwar enecessary for operation is written on EPROM and is placed at the high addresses of the ZX Spectrum memory (this interface is only valid for the 48K Spectrum), using the Spectrum initialisation when connecting it to the power supply.
The interface is controlled by means of the standard BASIC commands and some USR routines.
Nintendo Wii U Pro Controller
The Wii U Pro controller is a wireless controller for the Wii U console, designed for advanced gameplay and to be comfortable even during longer play sessions. The Wii U Pro Controller cannot be used with the Wii console or with Wii software.
Model number WUP-005.
Epson Intelligent Parallel Interface Kit
Interface board #8132W
Interface cable #8231
Designed for the Apple II/IIe. The interface kit permits a printer High-Resolution display partially or totally. It also enabled Epson Dot Matrix printers to perform text formatting operation.
Features:
- Copy of HI-RES screen can be performed by the same command (Ctrl-Q) used for silentype thermal printers.
- The 8132W is compatible with Apple Centronics cards at command levels.
- Formatting can be performed by Applesoft (10K BASIC).
- Apple Pascal and Z-80 software cards can be used.
- Can be used with VISICALC and DB Master.
Home Music Kit
Released in 1992 by Adept Development, this expansion unit for the Commodore Amiga features:
- Maximum sampling rate of 900kHz
- Dynamic filtering
- Anti-aliasing filter
- Stereo gain control by software
- Microphone volume scale
Doctor V64
The Doctor V64 (popularly known as the Bung Doctor) was an accessor for the Nintendo 64 developed by Bung Enterprises of Hong Kong. While advertised as a third-party development system, it was also capable of playing copied N64 games.
The first version shipped with 128M of memory; later versions increased this to 256M to handle the larger cartridges being used. The early models could be upgraded by the end user. A parallel port on the rear of the console allowed game data to be downloaded from a PC - this was the basis for the claim it was a development system instead of a piracy device.
The device attaches to the Nintendo 64 through the underside expansion slot and presents itself as a ROM cartridge once the game is loaded. The N64 cartridge slot must contain the adapter module which passes through signals for the region lockout chip. A legitimate cartridge must be present for the Bung Doctor to work.
TRS-80 Color Computer
The first version of the TRS-80 Color Computer has a calculator-style "chiclet" keyboard, and was available with memory sizes of 4K (26-3001), 16K (26-3002), or 32K (26-3003). This is the 16K model and therefore shipped with Microsoft Color Basic instaled. No monitor was supported; instead the user was expected to connect the computer to a regular TV.
IBM dB Adapter 1749299
The IBM dB Adapter is a battery-operated electronic device designed to extend the dB measurement capabilities of the IBM VOM 1749231. The dB Adapter has a range of -50 through 0 (zero) dB, in increments of 10 decibels.
Wangtek 5150 EQ Internal QIC Tape Drive
This internal tape drive is designed to accept DC 6250 data cartridges, each containing 1020 feet of magnetic tape. The total storage capacity is 250MB. The tape drive is sized to fit in a standard half-height PC drive bay and connects to a Wangtek 30631-001 SCSI controller card (8-bit ISA bus).
Quest Standard Telematique ISDN card
This 8-bit ISA card by Quest Standard Telematique is powered by a Motorola 68000 microprocessor and was possibly used to connect to ISDN telephone lines.
ISA 9-pin Serial Card
This 8-bit ISA expansion card for the PC provides on 9-pin RS232 serial port. The port can be assigned to any of the COM1-COM4 I/O addresses using the jumper block at the top of the card. The serial controller is an INS8250N-B chip.
The large areas of unpopulated components are to support a 25-pin parallel port, which would have been assignable to any of LPT1-LPT3 I/O ports using the right side of the jumper block.
The card's FCC ID of identifies the manufacturer as Taiwan Mycomp Corporation.
Microwriter Quinkey
The Quinkey was a cut-down version of the Microwriter MW4. It was not a standalone unit and was marketed as ana alternative keyboard for the BBC Micro computer. It was designed around the concept of 'chording' multiple keypresses together to allow full-speed typing with only one hand. Up to four Quinkeys could be connected to a single computer using the Quinkey Interface Unit, which connected to the BBC Micro's Analogue port.
Although praised by reviewers for the comfort and high speed of typing obtained with only a few hours training, the Quinkey was not a massive commercial success.
Sinclair ZX Interface 2
The ZX Interface 2 was released in 1983 by Sinclair Research for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It connected to the expansion port of the ZX Spectrum and features two joystick ports and a ROM cartridge slot.
The cartridge slot allowed instant load times, but due to it's limited size (only supporting 16KB of ROM without additional bank-switching hardware) only ten games were commerically released in this format.
The joystick ports did not use the Kempston joystick protocol and were therefore incompatible with previously released software. The first joystick was mapped to keys 6-0 and the second joystick to keys 1-5.
A pass-through expansion connector is present on the rear of the unit, but not all pins from the computer were exposed - enough only for connecting a ZX Printer.
Sinclair Sovereign
The Sovereign was one of the last calculators to be released by Sinclair before the company refocused on the personal computer market. It was released in 1976 and can display eight digits in its red LED display. It features the usual four arithmetic functions plus square, square root, percentage, and memory. Because the case was made of pressed steel instead of plastic it was available in a variety of styles, including black painted, chrome plated, silver plated, and gold plated.
Sinclair Executive Memory
The Sinclair Executive Memory is a four-function calculator introduced by Sinclair Radionics in 1973. It uses eight red LED digit displays and is powered by four button cell batteries. The low power consumption required to run off such a small power source was obtained by pulsing the power supply to the electronics.
Datel Electronics Syncro Express
Syncro Express is a high speed floppy disk backup system for the Atari ST. Data is transferred directly from source to target using the Syncro Express Interface, producing a single sided copy in less than 23 seconds and double sided in under 44 seconds. Note that a second floppy disk drive is required.
GN Telematic 4501 Tape Reader/Punch Station
The GNT 4601 is a combination paper tape reader/punch device. It handles serial data at speeds of up to 1200 baud, and all data and control signals conform to RS232C/V24 and RS423. There is also a current loop facility and a parallel input for the punch.
The GNT 4601 is intended for word processing systems and version A incorporates facilities for conversion between ASCII and Telex code.
The GNT 4601 has two signal connectors and can be inserted between a computer and a terminal. The Reader/Punch combo can also be used as a terminal itself. Tapes can be duplicated.
